The production of guidance for the laboratory sector to prepare for emergency situations

This project involves preparing a guide for the World Health Organization (WHO) on maintaining diagnostic services in emergency settings. This includes in response to outbreaks and pandemics, but also in natural disasters and conflict zones.

The project is a collaboration between the Burnet Institute Health Security Program, Global Diagnostics group, 360biolabs and the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory and WHO reference labs.

Objective

It will involve meeting with key personnel involved in health security, outbreak responses and developing national policy for emerging diseases and other emergency situations.

It will include a review of existing national and international emergency plans in range of areas related to laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases, in field settings.

The research and writing of the draft guidance will be lead by Rose French, and will be reviewed by international experts before being adopted by WHO.

Approach

This project is an example of a new cross-discipline effort in the expansion program of health security.

It involves laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, clinicians, rapid point of care diagnostic development scientists, virologists with expertise in diagnosing emerging infectious diseases, and WHO reference laboratories, along with the expertise in quality managed and NATA accredited assays from 360biolabs.