Biological Hazards

From The Bible to Bernadino Ramzinni's 18th-century masterpiece De Morbis ArticumDiatriba, biological hazards, their associated diseases, and their control have been the subject ofscientic discussion and debate for millennia. In the past ve years, there has been somewhat ofa renaissance in the scientic research of, as well as public and governmental focus on, infectious(communicable) diseases and other biological hazards such as biotoxins and allergens. The resurgencewas largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing a paradigm shift in airborne virustransmission and renewed interest in indoor air quality and ventilation (Morawska et al. 2023).Other important events leading to this resurgence included the Australian House of RepresentativeInquiries into biotoxin-related illness (2018), allergies and anaphylaxis (2020), and reprisal of theseminal texts Bioaerosols: Assessment and Control and the AIHA Mold in Buildings (Hung et al.2020). Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology continued the further understandingof how human bodies respond to infectious agents, toxins and allergens, along with therelationship between the human microbiome, physical and psychological health. However, workis still needed in the continued develop and review of standard methods for the investigation andevaluation of biological hazards. Standardised approaches are critical in data collection for theevaluation and risk management of specic biological hazards such as mould, viruses, bacteria,endotoxin, pollens in occupational environments, of which the mechanisms of disease are stillpoorly understood. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need for preparednessto address biological hazards exacerbated by climate change, geopolitical tensions, and technologicaladvancement