Abstract
The Laboratory Incident Notification Canada surveillance system monitors laboratory incidents reported under the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act and the Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations. The objective of this report is to describe laboratory exposures that were reported in Canada in 2020 and the individuals who were affected. Laboratory incident exposures occurring in licensed Canadian laboratories in 2020 were analyzed. The exposure incident rate was calculated and the descriptive statistics were performed. Exposure incidents were analyzed by sector, activity type, occurrence type, root cause and pathogen/toxin. Affected persons were analyzed by education, route of exposure sector, role and laboratory experience. The time between the incident and the reporting date was also analyzed. Forty-two incidents involving 57 individuals were reported to Laboratory Incident Notification Canada in 2020. There were no suspected or confirmed laboratory acquired infections. The annual incident exposure rate was 4.2 incidents per 100 active licenses. Most exposure incidents occurred during microbiology activities (n=22, 52.4%) and/or were reported by the hospital sector (n=19, 45.2%). Procedural issues (n=16, 27.1%) and sharps-related incidents (n=13, 22.0%) were the most common occurrences. Most affected individuals were exposed via inhalation (n=28, 49.1%) and worked as technicians or technologists (n=36, 63.2%). Issues with standard operating procedures was the most common root cause (n=24, 27.0%), followed by human interactions (n=21, 23.6%). The median number of days between the incident and the reporting date was six days. The rate of laboratory incidents were lower in 2020 than 2019, although the ongoing pandemic may have contributed to this decrease because of the closure of non-essential workplaces, including laboratories, for a portion of the year. The most common occurrence type was procedural while issues with not complying to standard operating procedures and human interactions as the most cited root causes.
Highlights
The study of biological agents in academic, veterinary, industry, and government laboratory settings has many benefits; it poses an inherent risk of exposure due to the nature of the work and the pathogens and toxins involved
Exposure incidents reported in the first year were relatively rare, occurring in less than 4% of containment zones within laboratory settings
Using the data collected and housed in the Laboratory Incident Notification Canada (LINC) surveillance system, this study provides a descriptive summary and interpretation of the first full year of data collected relating to exposures and/or laboratory-acquired infections in Canada between January 1 and December 31, 2016
Summary
The study of biological agents in academic, veterinary, industry, and government laboratory settings has many benefits; it poses an inherent risk of exposure due to the nature of the work and the pathogens and toxins involved. This risk to human biosafety and biosecurity has led to injury, with accidents reported in the literature and by governments [1,2,3,4]. Canada recently enacted legislation to authorize the collection of data on laboratory incidents involving a biological agent This is done by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) as part of a comprehensive national program that protects Canadians from the health and safety risks posed by human and terrestrial animal pathogens and toxins
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