ICGEB BWC Training course on Pathogen Detection and Biosecurity
ICGEB partnered with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Biological Weapons Convention to host the Training Course on ‘Pathogen Detection and Biosecurity’ at ICGEB Cape Town.
Ambassador of Norway to South Africa
From 1-5 December 2025, ICGEB Cape Town hosted a joint training course with the UNODA Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) supported by the Government of Norway’s Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation NORAD.
The course was organised by ICGEB, with contributions from and in partnership with the World Health Organization, Africa CDC, Operation Outbreak, and the Biosecurity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Bio-ISAC), bringing together complementary expertise in public health, outbreak simulation, and biosecurity risk management. Focusing on pathogen detection and biosecurity in the Framework of Article X of the BWC, the course is part of a continued initiative between the ICGEB and the BWC Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the UNODA.
With global participation, experts and participants joined from Argentina, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Iraq, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Namibia, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Zambia, Italy, Slovenia, Romania, African Union – Ethiopia, Switzerland, Canada and U.S.A.
Theoretical sessions were held by international experts in virology, diagnostic procedures, epidemiology, public heath, surveillance, antiviral therapy, vaccines and biosecurity, and were followed by practical sessions including qPCR, LAMP, sequencing as well as tabletop simulation exercises TTX.
The objectives of the training included:
- Understand the Biological Weapons Convention
- Strengthen the capacity of scientists, public health professionals, microbiologists, and molecular biologists in biosecurity, diagnostics, and outbreaks/pandemic preparedness within the context of the BWC
- Gain hands-on technical expertise in molecular diagnostics (qRT-PCR, LAMP)
- Acquire foundational skills in genomic surveillance and bioinformatics
- Engage in scenario-based exercises to simulate outbreak response and decision-making
- Build an understanding of biosecurity risk assessment and mitigation (insider and outsider threats in laboratories, biosecurity risk matrices)
- Understand the governance of Dual-Use Research of Concern (DURC)
The next Training Course will be held in Trieste, Italy from 23 – 27 February 2026 for technical experts from Central Asia and Mongolia.
Further reading: Pandemic Preparedness and Biosecurity – ICGEB
