On 31 July 2014 ISTC Project K-2048 “Biosafety and Biosecurity Training for Personnel of Mobile Medical Units Working in Field Conditions” was successfully completed. This Project was funded by the European Union as part of a larger EU-ISTC contribution agreement with the objective of “Strengthening Biosafety & Biosecurity Capabilities in Central Asian Countries”. Activities under the Project started in February 2013 by the Kazakh-Russian Medical University (KRMU – lead institute) and Kazakh Scientific Centre for Quarantine and Zoonotic Diseases (KSCQZD), with a budget of $230,000 USD (~ 170,000 EUR). 

The objective of Project K-2048 was to improve and strengthen the knowledge and expertise in biosafety and biosecurity norms, regulations and procedures of staff working on mobile medical units that are active in natural foci of quarantine and other especially dangerous infections. That is, most of the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan is occupied by natural foci of quarantine and other especially dangerous infections (QOEDI) – plague, cholera, hemorrhagic fevers, anthrax, and others. In 2010, several cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever infections and deaths of medical workers were registered, indicating a lack of vigilance among medical professionals of the risks of especially dangerous infections. 

For that reason, KRMU and KSCQZD developed a curriculum and conducted training course for medical personnel on the rules of biosafety and biosecurity. The course was designed to teach and train healthcare professionals of various disciplines to reduce the risk of exposure to QOEDI’s. The developed training materials became the basis for clinical guidelines on biorisks from QOEDI for medical personnel of primary health care organizations. In total, 142 healthcare professionals of mobile medical units were trained from all regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.