Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC202597 (Poster 128) | Published: 06 Aug 2025
Ikechukwu Nnaji1,&, Amos Dangana1, Oluwapelumi Enoch Fasulu2, MacDonald Somtochukwu Maduabuchi3, Precious Nengak Danladi4, Eugene Samuel Bwede1, Abiodun Jumoke Egwuenu1, James Christopher Avong1, Chima Emmanuel Ihemeje1, Olajumoke Atinuke Babatunde1, Charles Chibuike Korie3, Olubunmi Ruth Negedu-Momoh5, Nkiruka Lynda Uzoebo1, Chidiebere Emmanuel Opara1, Ndidi Paschaline Agala6, Ogarega Usiegbodi Daudu1, Olajide Idris1
1Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Abuja, Nigeria, 2Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Nigeria, 3University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, Nigeria, 4Africa Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Abuja, Nigeria, 5UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), International Health Regulations (IHR) Strengthening Project, Abuja, Nigeria, 6Aids Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) Abuja, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Ikechukwu Nnaji, Centre for Nigeria Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Abuja, Nigeria. Email: ikechukwu.nnaji@ncdc.gov.ng
Received: 21 Apr 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 06 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: biosafety, infectious waste management, knowledge, attitudes, practice, laboratory workers, NCDC National Reference Laboratory.
©Ikechukwu Nnaji 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: Ikechukwu Nnaji et al., Knowledge, attitude, and practice of biosafety and infectious waste management among the laboratory workers at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, Nigeria. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00272. https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00272
Biosafety (BS) and safe infectious waste management (IWM) knowledge are crucial in safeguarding the laboratory and its personnel, as well as preventing the release of biological waste into the environment. At the National Reference Laboratory, infectious waste (both solid and liquid) is generated from laboratories handling Lassa fever, Mpox, diphtheria, pertussis, cholera, cerebrospinal meningitis, measles, rubella, yellow fever, HIV/hepatitis, Covid-19, influenza, etc. Biosafety and infectious waste management practices are influenced by personnel’s attitude; hence, the need for status assessment to enable application of interventions that are suitable for the system.
A total of 80 respondents participated in the study, with 48 males (60%) and 32 females (40%). Among the respondents, 74 (92.5%) received initial orientation training on biosafety and infectious waste management. Additionally, 76.3% demonstrated an understanding of biosafety, while 63 (78.8%) strongly agreed that proper infectious waste management plays a critical role in reducing environmental and health risks. Regarding self-assessed confidence in BS and IWM knowledge, 38.8% of respondents reported being strongly confident of their BS and IWM knowledge, while 50% reported having a decent confident level of knowledge. Overall, attitudes towards biosafety and infectious waste management were predominantly positive, and observed practices partially conformed with standard operating procedures
Significant knowledge exists among laboratory workers, and attitudes are mostly positive; however, some gaps still exist. Notably, informed knowledge will need to be fully translated into safe practices; as such, regular training and retraining of workers on biosafety and infectious waste management are highly recommended.
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