Biosecurity

The basic principle of surveillance is access control. To prevent unauthorised access to hazardous BA, suitable comprehensive control measures must be in place. These could include the following.

a) Physical barriers (access control, differentiating between public areas and laboratories, perimeter barrier, etc.).
b) Psychological barriers (identified surveillance personnel, security culture in place at all levels, cameras, mirrors, etc.).
c) Control activities (security patrols, involvement of internal personnel in controlling flows of people, control of access keys, etc.).
d) Accreditation of personnel that allows them to be identified and limits access to authorised personnel for each area.

Another control measure is to keep ongoing records (also at the disposal of the competent authorities) of all the BA that are being used or stored. These records (or inventory) include the scientific name of the BA or the origin of the cell line, its location or storage place, its risk group, its concentration, etc.