Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty
IntroductionThe present paper proposes a tool to follow up the compliance of staff and students with biosecurity rules, as enforced in a veterinary faculty, i.e., animal clinics, teaching laboratories, dissection rooms, and educational pig herd and farm.MethodsStarting from a generic list of items g...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.960051/full |
| _version_ | 1811161577755246592 |
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| author | Marie-France Humblet Claude Saegerman |
| author_facet | Marie-France Humblet Claude Saegerman |
| author_sort | Marie-France Humblet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThe present paper proposes a tool to follow up the compliance of staff and students with biosecurity rules, as enforced in a veterinary faculty, i.e., animal clinics, teaching laboratories, dissection rooms, and educational pig herd and farm.MethodsStarting from a generic list of items gathered into several categories (personal dress and equipment, animal-related items, infrastructures, waste management, management of material/equipment and behavior), a checklist was created for each sector/activity mentioned above, based on the rules and procedures compiled in the Faculty biosecurity standard operating procedures. Checklists were created as Excel™ files. For each sector, several sheets were elaborated, i.e., one per specific activity: for example, the following sheets were created for the equine clinic: class 1-2 hospitalization (class 1 = non-infectious conditions; class 2 = infectious disease with a low or non-existent risk of transmission), class 3 hospitalization (class 3 = infectious disease with a moderate risk of transmission; these patients are suspected of having an infectious disease and being contagious for other patients and/or for humans) and consultation.ResultsClass 4 area, which corresponds to the isolation unit and aims at housing patients suffering from infectious diseases with a significant risk of transmission (including notifiable conditions), was not audited at that period, as it was undergoing renovation works. The audit relied on observations performed by a unique observer to ensure standardization. Observed items were presented as yes/no and multiple-choice questions. A scale from 0 to 3 or 4 (depending on the item) allowed scoring each item, i.e., 0 corresponding to 100% compliance with the procedure and the highest score to the worst situation. A median and average global score was also estimated by category and by activity.DiscussionThe methodology described in the present paper allows estimating the compliance with biosecurity standard operating procedures in a specific sector and/or for a given activity. The identification of criteria needing improvement is a key point: it helps prioritizing actions to be implemented and awareness raising among people concerned. Regular internal auditing is an essential part of a biosecurity plan, the frequency being conditioned by the risk linked to a specific activity or area (i.e., more frequent audits in risky situations). |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:16:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ba32316376ee4b1d9cf1510736f583cd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:16:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-ba32316376ee4b1d9cf1510736f583cd2023-03-02T06:43:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692023-03-011010.3389/fvets.2023.960051960051Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary facultyMarie-France Humblet0Claude Saegerman1Unit Biosafety, Biosecurity and Environmental Licenses, Department for Occupational Protection and Hygiene, University of Liège, Liège, BelgiumVeterinary Science Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Research Unit (UREAR-ULiège), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals and Health Center (FARAH), Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, BelgiumIntroductionThe present paper proposes a tool to follow up the compliance of staff and students with biosecurity rules, as enforced in a veterinary faculty, i.e., animal clinics, teaching laboratories, dissection rooms, and educational pig herd and farm.MethodsStarting from a generic list of items gathered into several categories (personal dress and equipment, animal-related items, infrastructures, waste management, management of material/equipment and behavior), a checklist was created for each sector/activity mentioned above, based on the rules and procedures compiled in the Faculty biosecurity standard operating procedures. Checklists were created as Excel™ files. For each sector, several sheets were elaborated, i.e., one per specific activity: for example, the following sheets were created for the equine clinic: class 1-2 hospitalization (class 1 = non-infectious conditions; class 2 = infectious disease with a low or non-existent risk of transmission), class 3 hospitalization (class 3 = infectious disease with a moderate risk of transmission; these patients are suspected of having an infectious disease and being contagious for other patients and/or for humans) and consultation.ResultsClass 4 area, which corresponds to the isolation unit and aims at housing patients suffering from infectious diseases with a significant risk of transmission (including notifiable conditions), was not audited at that period, as it was undergoing renovation works. The audit relied on observations performed by a unique observer to ensure standardization. Observed items were presented as yes/no and multiple-choice questions. A scale from 0 to 3 or 4 (depending on the item) allowed scoring each item, i.e., 0 corresponding to 100% compliance with the procedure and the highest score to the worst situation. A median and average global score was also estimated by category and by activity.DiscussionThe methodology described in the present paper allows estimating the compliance with biosecurity standard operating procedures in a specific sector and/or for a given activity. The identification of criteria needing improvement is a key point: it helps prioritizing actions to be implemented and awareness raising among people concerned. Regular internal auditing is an essential part of a biosecurity plan, the frequency being conditioned by the risk linked to a specific activity or area (i.e., more frequent audits in risky situations).https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.960051/fullstandard operating procedure (SOP)preventionawarenesszoonosescompliancequality control |
| spellingShingle | Marie-France Humblet Claude Saegerman Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty Frontiers in Veterinary Science standard operating procedure (SOP) prevention awareness zoonoses compliance quality control |
| title | Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty |
| title_full | Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty |
| title_fullStr | Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty |
| title_full_unstemmed | Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty |
| title_short | Internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty |
| title_sort | internal audits as a tool to assess the compliance with biosecurity rules in a veterinary faculty |
| topic | standard operating procedure (SOP) prevention awareness zoonoses compliance quality control |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.960051/full |
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