Against the backdrop of the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation against the people of Ukraine and Ukrainian statehood, as well as the growing threat of military terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure, threats to food and energy security, aspects of biological security and biological defense are becoming extremely important.
The globalization of the modern world, the increase in the volume of international trade operations, transportation of people, animals, and agricultural products, the risks of the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, as well as the spread of pathogens that cause them, are significantly exacerbated. This explains the fact that biological security is a key component of national security.
International organizations deal with biosecurity issues in the world: The World Health Organization (WHO), the International Office for Epizootics – World Health Organization (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the context of implementing the One Health approach, which considers the processes of homeostasis in the living world as a whole.
The key role in the list of biological threats today belongs to emergent infections, which are accompanied by emergencies in a country or region, posing a threat to biological and food security, with certain economic and social consequences.
A critical aspect of the development of modern biosafety regulatory systems is the implementation of good practices to prevent the spread of pathogens and safety in laboratories and bioproduction facilities.
It is important that the draft Law of Ukraine “On Biological Safety and Biological Security” is being considered, and experts of the One Health Institute are involved in its development. There is a lot of work ahead to create bylaws for the future law and develop institutional policies.
Today, there is a need to strengthen the system of state regulation of biological safety and biological protection in Ukraine, including aspects of controlling the circulation of pathogens, creating conditions for safe diagnostic work and production of specific protection products for humans, animals and plants.
Today, with the kind permission of the World Health Organization, a team of specialists from the One Health SRI and the One Health Institute, NGO have completed an adapted translation of the WHO Biosafety Manual. By presenting this document and related monographs, we sincerely hope that this initiative will benefit the biomedical research and practice community in order to develop and strengthen national and subnational standards of biological safety and biological protection in Ukraine.
Sincerely yours
Anton Gerilovych,
Director General of the One Health Scientific and Research Institute, PSI
For more information, please follow the link: https://www.onehealthinstitute.org.ua/publications/
