Anniversary of the German Biosafety Programme

Dangerous pathogens know no geographical or political borders. They occur naturally and pose a regional, national and international threat; this was impressively demonstrated to the world by the coronavirus pandemic. This is why continued research on these pathogens is important. However, the safe handling of viruses and bacteria of the highest security level as well as toxins is a challenge.

The Federal Foreign Office launched the German Biosafety Programme on 1 July 2013 to minimise the risk of these threats for everyone. The idea is to keep an eye on dangerous pathogens so that they do not become biological risks. To this end, the programme supports research and monitoring of pathogens and their spread. Through efficient collection and evaluation of data, disease outbreaks can be detected and combated at an early stage.

The programme brings together experts from the participating countries, promotes exchange on biosafety and creates awareness for the responsible handling of dangerous pathogens – in research and in the event of a crisis. It helps to prevent laboratory accidents and the unintentional release of dangerous pathogens (biosafety) as well as their deliberate misuse (biosecurity).

To enable the participating countries to fight disease outbreaks independently, the programme promotes knowledge about how dangerous pathogens can be reliably identified and diagnosed using modern methods and equipment. It also teaches how good communication can work in the event of a crisis.

The participating institutions work together to develop and implement guidelines and strategies in the field of biosafety, strengthen competence centres, establish training-of-trainers formats in which knowledge is passed on independently – and in this way strengthen the partners in a targeted and sustainable manner.

Projects with BNITM participation

Projects in Kosovo:

2013 - 2016 "Diagnostics and Surveillance of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Kosovo"

2017-2019 "Diagnostics and surveillance of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) to maintain biosecurity in Kosovo 2017-2019"

2020 "Diagnostic and clinical support in handling infectious materials and detection methods for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 infections"

2023 "Diagnostics and surveillance of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), Hanta (HNTV) and Monkeypox (Mpox) in Kosovo"

Partners:

    National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo (NIPH)
    University Hospital for Infectious Diseases of Kosovo
    University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

This is what BNITM does on site:

• Training of laboratory staff in biosafety and biosecurity and in the detection and diagnosis of highly pathogenic viruses to prevent their spread
• Theoretical and practical training of hospital staff in biosafety and biosecurity in the handling of infectious patient materials
• Conducting serological and molecular genetic proficiency tests for CCHFV, HNTV and MPOXV for quality assurance purposes
• Improvement and support of diagnostics through additional equipment and materials
• Tick monitoring
• Exchange of scientists
• Joint visits and presentations at national and international congresses

This is what BNITM does on the ground:

• Training of laboratory staff in biosafety and biosecurity and workshops in detection and diagnostics of highly pathogenic viruses to prevent their spread
• Theoretical and practical training of hospital staff in biosafety and biosecurity in the handling of infectious patient materials
• Conducting serological and molecular genetic proficiency tests for CCHFV HNTV and MPOXV for quality assurance purposes
• Exchange of scientists
• Joint visits and lectures at national and international congresses

During the one-year fellowship, participants acquire theoretical knowledge through a blended learning approach, apply their new skills in simulation exercises and develop their own teaching material (case studies on disaster management of biosecurity incidents) to be used at their home institutions. This training-of-trainers concept creates a multiplier effect. The first cohort of the GIBACHT fellowship was trained in 2015, and since then 7 cohorts have been trained. In total, GIBACHT has trained more than 100 postgraduate public health professionals from 27 partner countries.

In the current programme phase, there is a strong focus on expanding alumni activities. This should strengthen the exchange between the target countries and prepare them to form regional training centres.