Biosafety Risk Assessment App Available from WHO

The World Health Organization has launched a biosafety risk assessment app designed to complement the approach outlined in WHO’s Laboratory Biosafety Manual. According to WHO, lab workers can be up to 1,000 times more vulnerable to infections compared to the general population. The new Risk Assessment Tool for Biosafety and Laboratory Biosecurity reflects the first two steps outlined in the manual, which are to gather information and evaluate risks.

While the app can perform complex risk calculations, WHO states that the tool should be used only as advice when considering measures to control risk and is not a substitute for a complete manual risk assessment.

The app can be downloaded for both Android and IOS devices from the WHO website. The fourth edition of the Laboratory Biosafety Manual is also available for download.