Conference Abstract | Volume 9, Abstract 075 (ConfProc7) | Published: 13 Aug 2026
Richard Okata1,&, Prince Kwasi Vondee2, Eric Aryee3, Oksana Ryabinina4
1Veterinary Laboratory, Donkorkrom, Kwahu Afram Plains North District, Eastern Region, Ghana, 2Veterinary Clinic, Donkorkrom, Kwahu Afram Plains North District, Eastern Region, Ghana, 3Madina Polyclinic, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana, 4Department of Chemical Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Richard B. Okata, Veterinary Laboratory, Donkorkrom, Kwahu Afram Plains North District, Eastern Region, Ghana. Email: anaankomahrich1@gmail.com
Received: 29 Aug 2025, Accepted: 28 Oct 2025, Published: 13 Aug 2026
Domain: Laboratory Systems Strengthening
Keywords: Biosafety, Veterinary Laboratory, Quality Improvement, Risk Assessment, Ghana
©Richard Okata et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Richard Okata et al. Strengthening biosafety systems at a veterinary laboratory in rural Ghana: A quality improvement approach from the Kwahu Afram Plains North District, April 2025. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfProc7):075. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO7-0075
Veterinary laboratories play a vital role in safeguarding animal health, conducting disease surveillance, and ensuring effective disease control. However, these facilities frequently handle infectious biological agents and hazardous chemicals, posing significant risks to laboratory personnel, animals, the public, and the environment. The absence of a comprehensive biosafety management program exacerbates these risks, leading to potential exposure to infectious agents, environmental contamination, and compromised diagnostic accuracy. This project aimed to establish and implement a biosafety and risk management program in the veterinary laboratory, Donkorkrom in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District of Eastern Region of Ghana.
A quality improvement approach was employed to develop and implement a biosafety management framework for the Veterinary Laboratory in Donkorkrom. Key activities included: review of national and international biosafety and biosecurity guidelines, development of a comprehensive biosafety manual and standard operating procedures (SOPs), conducting risk assessments and laboratory safety audits to identify hazards and implement corrective measures; and establishment of a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure continuous compliance and improvement.
A biosafety manual was developed and implemented. A total of 14 SOPs were finalized. Essential safety was structure such as emergency eye wash, shower station, first aid kits, and fire safety equipment were installed and operationalized. Hands-on training in biosafety, health emergency response and incident management was conducted for staff. Safety drills, biosafety audit and risk assessment were conducted as part of the program.
The implementation of this project improved staff awareness of biosafety measures and significantly strengthened safety practices within the Donkorkrom Veterinary Laboratory. The initiative provides a practical and scalable model for other veterinary laboratories in Ghana seeking to establish or improve their biosafety management systems.
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