DOHA: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) organized a three-day workshop on shipping infectious samples in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Biomedical Research Center at Qatar University (QU).
The workshop included extensive practical training on the biological safety practices, biosecurity and safe storage of samples, in addition to clarifying the most important concepts of shipping infectious samples to the international reference laboratories.
The workshop aimed to upgrade the capabilities of applying the concepts of shipping hazardous and infectious samples, supplying the medical practitioners with ample skills to further fulfil the requirements of the competent authorities in Qatar concerning the regularization of international shipping of infectious samples based on the enforced international standards.
Director of the Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control Department at MoPH Dr Hamad Eid Al Rumaihi said that the workshop was intended to train the professionals who are operating in laboratories and institutions relevant to shipping infectious samples, surveillance systems in the field of public health and animal health, in addition to the professional scientists concerned with other medical, biological and diagnostic samples for surveillance purposes, scientific research and the activities of Communicable disease risk assessment.
The workshop included training on Biorisk management activities.
Dr Al Rumaihi stressed that MoPH is committed to organizing professional workshops and training courses in the field of shipping infectious samples, where the ministry has previously organized a myriad of professional training courses in this field, indicating that pursuing a secure methodology to rapidly transport infectious samples is of high importance for proper surveillance and the laboratory confirmation to overcome public health threats.
The workshop presenter, WHO Expert Christian Foster, who is specialized in capacity-building pertaining to shipping infectious samples said: "The workshop targeted the various relevant authorities in Qatar to essentially build their capacities on the methodologies of shipping infectious samples, in addition to classifying, packaging, documenting, storing, cooling or shipping in accordance with the best international systems applied in this field."
