Telecommunication Facilities, Key Support for Data Management and Data Sharing by a Biological Mobile Laboratory Deployed to Counter Emerging Biological Threats and Improve Public Health Crisis Preparedness.

In the case of rapid outbreaks of infectious diseases in remote locations, the lack of real-time information from the field and rapid spread of misinformation can be a major issue. To improve situational awareness and decision-making at all levels of operational deployment, there is an urgent need for accurate, reliable, and timely results from patients from the affected area. This requires a robust and fast channel of communication connecting first responders on-site, crisis managers, decision-makers, and the institutions involved in the survey of the crisis at national, regional, and international levels. This has been the rationale sustaining the development of advanced communication tools in the Biological Light Fieldable Laboratory for Emergencies (B-LiFE). The benefit of terrestrial (TETRA, LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi-Fi) and SatCom communications is illustrated through a series of missions and exercises conducted in the previous five years. These tools were used by B-LiFE operators to provide accurate, comprehensive, timely, and relevant information and services in real time. The focus of this article is to discuss the development and benefits of the integration of multi-mission, multi-user nomadic, rapidly deployable telecommunication nodes for emergency uses (TEN) in the capacity of B-LiFE. Providing reliable communication channels through TEN enables the development and use of an ICT toolbox called MIML_LIMS (multi-institution, multi-mission, multi-laboratory LIMS), a tool which is mandatory for efficient and secure data management and data sharing by a mobile laboratory.

Deployment of a Mobile Laboratory for the Control and Monitoring of High-Consequence Infectious Diseases: An Illustration With the

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused societal issues, economic and political tensions worldwide. This shows, once more, that dissemination of correct information based on scientific evidence together with a quick and concerted action is the key to build a sound capability for the management of biological emergencies. Here, we summarize the lessons learnedfrom our preparedness and intervention during (i) our deployment during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa;(ii) our large-scale exercises from Horizon 2020 Security program where the focus is on handling intentional dispersion of infectious agents;and (iii) our fight against COVID-19: by the deployment of Biological Light Fieldable Laboratory for Emergencies (BLiFE mobile laboratory) in Turin and Novara, Piedmont Region, Italy. At the latter deployment, the ultimate goal was a large screening for COVID-19 prevalence in primo intervention individuals. It cannot be ignored that the COVID-19 pandemic is an ideal situation to whet our preparedness, coordination of response and risks monitoring in case of future biological threats or attacks.