A Cross-Border Biorisk Toolkit for Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to public health, exposing first responders to high biosafety risks during medical assistance and containment efforts. The PANDEM-2 study aimed to address these critical biosafety issues by emphasising the importance of frequently updated, harmonised guidelines. This study reviewed scientific publications, lessons learned, and real-world experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic to identify biorisk gaps in three critical areas: (i) patient transportation and management, (ii) sample handling and testing, and (iii) data management and communication by laboratory staff. At the onset of the pandemic, first responders faced several challenges, including the rapid expansion of emergency medical services, conversion of non-medical structures, increased internal and cross-border transport of infected patients, frequent changes in biosafety protocols, and a shortage of personal protective equipment. In response, this study developed a versatile and easily adaptable toolkit, including biosafety guidance and recommendations linked to updated national and international online repositories. It establishes the groundwork for a minimum standard that can be tailored to various pandemic response scenarios, using monkeypox as a fictive test case. The toolkit enables rapid access to updated information via QR codes and mobile devices, improving biorisk response by providing an adaptable and standardised approach for caregivers involved in national and cross-border responses.