The U.S. Public Health Service Centers for Disease and the Control and Prevention joined the  National Institutes of Health in publishing the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories 6th Edition (BMBL), as an advisory document recommending best practices for the safe conduct of work in biomedical and clinical laboratories from a biosafety perspective. The core principle of the BMBL is protocol-driven risk assessment, thus BMBL should be used as a tool in the assessment and proposed mitigation steps in biomedical and clinical laboratories. Specifically, this edition includes new appendices on the following topics: inactivation and verification; laboratory sustainability; large-scale biosafety; and clinical laboratory biosafety.

The International Working Group (IWG) on Strengthening the Culture of Biosafety and Biosecurity issued a working version of the framework for assessing (or self-assessing) the organizational culture of biosafety, biosecurity and responsible conduct in the life sciences. 

The accompanying data entry tool is available here.  Furthermore the IWG prepared ‘A Guide to Training and Information Resources on the Culture of Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Responsible Conduct in the Life Sciences‘

EU Non-Proliferation Consortium’s e-learning module on biological weapons

The e-learning units were launched in 2017; minor updates take place on an on-going basis.

Basic Certificates are awarded on completion of the first five Learning Units, and a Comprehensive Certificate is awarded on completion of all fifteen Learning Units.

The learning unit aims to introduce students to the technical, historical, political and legal dimensions of biological weapons.

On completion, students will have a basic understanding of:

• the technical foundations of biological weapons

• historical biological weapons programmes

• the nature of bioterrorism

• the political context

• the international legal framework

The EU Non-Proliferation Consortium’s e-learning module on biological weapons is available at https://nonproliferation-elearning.eu/learningunits/biological-weapons/

Preventing Biological Threats: What You Can Do:
A Guide to Biological Security Issues and How to Address Them

This publication was produced by the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre and first published in December 2015. It is intended to raise awareness and knowledge of biological security for everyone active in the life sciences, ranging from those engaged in research to those engaged in management and policy-making, both nationally and internationally. A key objective of this book is to provide university life-science lecturers and students with a resource to enhance university biosecurity education around the world.

The 21 chapters, by a range of leading international experts, are organised into six sections, built around a central focus on the responsibilities of scientists for biosecurity, and serve to give a proper context for understanding what is at stake in the coming decades. This book is intended to contribute to an understanding of the problems of wider biological security beyond the laboratory door, and the less familiar aspects of responsible scientific conduct.

The accompanying Biological Security Education Handbook (available below) combines teaching material with an active team-based learning approach to empower educators, students and practitioners as they begin to engage with biological security. It aims to supplement this Guide by providing its users with tips and insights into how to implement its content in different educational settings.

This book was funded by the Global Partnership Programmes of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) Canada and the United Kingdom, and is available to download and use free of charge. The Spanish translation of the Guide was produced as a courtesy by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The full text of Preventing Biological Threats: What You Can Do is available here in English, French and Russian.

Biological Security Education Handbook: The Power of Team-Based Learning

This publication was produced by the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre and first published in January 2016. This book is available to download and use free of charge. This book was funded through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) Canada and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD). The Spanish translation of the Handbook was produced as a courtesy by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The full text of Biological Security Education Handbook: The Power of Team-Based Learning is available here in the following languages: Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish

An efficient and practical approach to Biosecurity
Danish Centre for Biosecurity and Biopreparedness

This book was created by the Danish Centre for Biosecurity and Biopreparedness—Denmark’s National Biosecurity Agency—as an aid to those countries that are still in the process of establishing national biosecurity systems. The book was supported through a collaboration between the CBB and the Danish ministries of defence, foreign affairs and health. The aim of the book is to draw upon Denmark’s experiences with biosecurity to suggest an efficient and practical model that other countries can use—in whole or in part—as a blueprint for establishing or improving their own biosecurity systems.

The book is available in both English and Russian versions from the CBB website.

The Dutch Biosecurity Office has developed two toolkits that can be helpful to provide an indication of the current level of biosecurity. These toolkits are intended for organisations that work with biological agents or come into regular contact with them. Both toolkits were developed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary expert group on biosecurity.

The Self-scan Toolkit is available in Dutch, English and French and the Vulnerability Scan is available in Dutch and English.

The Dutch Biosecurity Office has produced a short video (see below) which explains biosecurity management by introducing eight elements of biosecurity, the so called ‘biosecurity pillars’, to provide insight and guidance to improve biosecurity within your organisation. The eight pillars of biosecurity are – awareness, personnel reliability, transport security, information security, accountability for materials, response, management, and physical measures. This film is useful for persons that are directly or indirectly involved in handling dangerous pathogens and high risk biological material.

The 2023 Catalogue of Civil Society Assistance Programs highlights civil society’s contributions to the BWC and States Parties, including through initiatives to enhance biological safety and security around the world. In addition to organization and project descriptions, the information provided in this catalogue includes points of contact for each program to facilitate stronger connections between civil society and State Parties in need of assistance.

This catalogue is compiled by Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security (GHSS) and The Henry L. Stimson Center. Additionally, material contained in the catalogue will be included in the Stimson Center’s 1540 Assistance Support Initiative Database (https://1540assistance.stimson.org) and the catalogue published on the GHSS and Stimson Center’s website.

The need to provide basic biosecurity and biosafety education is not only recommended but timely to inculcate a culture of safety, security, and responsibility within the next generation of scientists. There is an increase in scientific experimentation in Secondary schools in Nigeria. Hence, the need for students to be aware of best biosafety practices and the risks associated with working in the laboratory.

Creating awareness and promoting inclusion of biosecurity and biosafety education in schools, we, the Youth for Biosecurity 2021 and 2022 Cohort- Nigeria Participants came together to produce this Biosafety and Biosecurity handbook.