The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 10th International Symposium on Biosafety was held 9-13 February in Atlanta, GA. Presented every two years, the symposium titled Protecting Workers in Clinical Laboratories, Research, Animal Care, and Public Health Communities drew over 600 attendees from around the world. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) was one of 15 cosponsors of this event, which included the College of American Pathologists (CAP), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), American Medical Association (AMA), and American Nurses Association (ANA) among others. 

Terry Jo Gile, MT(ASCP), MA Ed, the Safety Lady®, was the CLSI representative to the steering committee, and presented at a preconference workshop as well as served on a panel of experts for the clinical track. The symposium included 49 exhibitors whose displays ranged from lab coats and gloves to biosafety hoods. Gile says, “After 10 years of putting on this event, the CDC Symposium has become a showcase for cutting edge information utilized by research laboratories.”

The keynote speaker was Caryl Griffin, MSN, from the Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation. This foundation works with laboratories to provide animals for research.

Topics of particular interest to clinical laboratories included risk assessment process and management; a personal protective equipment (PPE) fashion show including PPE for biosafety level (BSL) 2, 3, and 4 laboratories; case studies on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); laboratory-acquired tularemia; and effective networking of laboratories for preparedness and worker safety. This last topic was presented by Larry Gray, PhD, Director of Microbiology at TriHealth Laboratories in Cincinnati, OH. With the cooperation of the local health department, Dr. Gray and 25 other representatives from the Greater Cincinnati area developed a network of communication that can spread the word about an outbreak of any type of communicable disease, such as Shigella, Neisseria, etc. Through this network, Dr. Gray and his colleagues have presented annual symposia that are free to the health care community and are very well attended by laboratorians, nurses, and physicians.

Karen Mortland, MT(ASCP), M. Arch., discussed proper design of clinical laboratories.  With Ms. Mortland’s expertise in the clinical laboratory as well as her degree in architecture, she is able to work with clinical laboratories to design a facility that meets both code and desired workflow. 

Additional topics on the clinical track included ergonomics, medical surveillance, and effective training. 

An industrial hygiene track included discussions of pandemic flu presented by Dina Matz, CHI, CSP, SM(NRM), from the Los Alamos National Labs, and Capt. Ralph O’Connor, Jr., PhD, from CDC.

The closing session was presented by May Chu, PhD, from the World Health Organization (WHO), on safety and global public health from the WHO perspective.

The CDC International Symposium is offered every other year in Atlanta. The next conference will be in February 2010.
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