Sri Lanka conducts the Infectious Substance Shipping Training to certify One Health laboratory leaders in the country.

 

Sri Lanka has certified 48 infectious substance shippers during the week of 14-18 October 2024, in an attempt to create a pool of technical staff knowledgeable of current global guidelines and processes covering in One Health laboratories in the country. The training was co-organized by the Mistry of Health and the World Health Organization with the generous funding support received through the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Partnership Contributions (PIP PC). 

Worldwide, facilities handling biological agents have a responsibility to ensure that biological agents are identified, safely stored, and controlled in adequately equipped facilities according to best practices. While materials containing biological agents are being transported, a likelihood of exposure of people and the environment to biological agents exists. To ensure safe and timely operations, shippers of infectious substances must have appropriate knowledge on the national and international processes and regulations addressing transport by air, road, rail and sea. Training in this area contributes to improving compliance with applicable regulations, ensuring safety of staff, the public and the environment. Compliance also increases access to carrier services, and subsequent timely package delivery. 

To appropriately control and reduce this risk, various international groups have developed recommendations and/or regulations that outline the way in which infectious substances should be packaged, marked, labelled and documented, to ensure safety and containment throughout the transport process. According to the UN Model Regulations, all individuals involved in the transport of dangerous goods shall be trained based on their levels of responsibility, on the categorization  of dangerous goods and handling which should include, general awareness and familiarization training, function-specific training and safety training. 

The training in Sri Lanka consisted of two sessions each two and half days in duration. The training methodology included classroom discussions, practical demonstrations, group work and knowledge checks. All participants attending the training scored over 80% in the final test and subsequently were awarded the certified shipper status.

Re-certification of individuals who have previously completed a WHO’s infectious substances shipping training (ISST) course successfully is necessary through an online course available on the WHO Health Security Learning Platform every two years. Access to the re-certification examination is restricted and requires at least 80% of correct answers to obtain the re-certification, which is valid for 2 years from the date of completion.

Following the training of key technical focal points, a sub national roll-out will be planned to sensitize a larger group of infectious substance handlers in different One Health laboratories.