The Canary in the Coal Mine: Clinical and Public Health Laboratories Respond to Biosafety Risks

Abstract

Biosafety is important to all laboratories, as any clinical specimen has the potential to harbor an infectious agent. The rate at which infectious diseases have spread globally in recent years has only heighted awareness of laboratory safety and the assessment of biosafety risk. This article presents an overview of responses to recent events and provides resources for laboratories that can be utilized to prepare and improve their biosafety programs.