IMEX   05356
INSTITUTO DE MEDICINA EXPERIMENTAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
The experience of biorisk management in Argentina.
Autor/es:
GOLDSTEIN DE FINK S
Lugar:
Salvador
Reunión:
Congreso; VIII Congresso Brasileiro de Biossegurança.; 2013
Institución organizadora:
Associacao Nacional de Biosseguranca
Resumen:
Argentina is a member state of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). As such the country follows guidelines and recommendations from these two organizations. One of the major preoccupations at the world level is the possibility of a flu pandemic. In 2005, the Argentinean Ministry of Health conducted a pandemic simulation in Córdoba, and one year later developed an Integrated Contingency Plan for an influenza and SARS pandemic. In 2009, with the advent of the influenza type A H1N1 virus, Argentina was the 8th country to report cases of infection with this virus. Dissemination was helped by the environmental conditions related to the time of the year. In response to this outbreak, a crisis committee was organized and our National Institutes of Health worked 24/7 to handle the samples that arrived nonstop. Several measures were adopted, like controls on the borders of the country and an increase of the Ministry of Health?s budget, later schools were closed before the winter break to limit the spread of the disease. People in the risk groups were allowed to work from home or just stay at home. Diverse hygiene measures were promoted like hand washing. This is probably the most recent major challenge that we had to face. After the pandemic, most Latin American countries strengthened their influenza surveillance system, which prior to the 2009 pandemic, was mostly performed through regional reference centers. In 2010, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery with our National Service for Animal Health SENASA produced a document on a preliminary analysis of the risk of introduction of avian influenza in Argentina. The results of this analysis indicate that improvement in biosafety by poultry farms is the main contributor to lowering the risk. Contaminated vaccines are also a possible source of harmful virus. In this document several mitigating preventive measures are described and a follow-up is suggested. Other biorisk agents appear or threaten to appear periodically and are cause of concern. They also determine preventive measures to avoid dengue fever, yellow fever, etc just to name a few human infections and transmissible spongiform encephalopathy among other examples of animal infections. These preventive measures, suitable infection control programs and a management system according to the International Health Regulations should help our country face possible future biorisk situations.