Restraining SARS-CoV-2 in histopathology laboratory amid COVID-19 pandemic

Medical laboratory personnel encounter diverse health and workplace-related hazards leading to severe health challenges including the ravaging SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is the causal agent of COVID-19. It was first announced in Wuhan, China in December 2019 but started to spread globally by late January 2020. COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global spreading poses additional danger to healthcare personnel particularly the laboratorians. Other health practitioners may engage patients by observing social / physical distancing, but how laboratory staff observe or apply same rule to infectious samples remain a notable question. Activities of laboratorians result in repeated exposure at close interactions to patient's samples including SARS-CoV-2 infected specimens, which make them susceptible to COVID-19. Therefore, it is imperative to review mitigating measures in restraining possible exposure and spreading of SARS-CoV-2 in the best interest of laboratory staff and pathologists. It is against this backdrop that this paper intends to update readers on measures to restrain SARS-CoV-2 invasion in histopathology laboratory and deduce precautionary measures for observation by healthcare providers in COVID-19 era. Also discussed, is health hazards associated with histopathology laboratory with the objective of encouraging safety consciousness and safe laboratory practices in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

Automated summary

This paper discusses the health and workplace-related hazards faced by medical laboratory personnel, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the need for mitigating measures to prevent exposure to and spreading of SARS-CoV-2 in histopathology laboratories, with a focus on promoting safety consciousness and safe laboratory practices among healthcare providers.