The IAC-Quepia program, focused on the quality of PPE \u2013 personal protective equipment \u2013 has joined a multidisciplinary group of experts brought together to act during the coronavirus pandemic. Organized by the Brazilian Association of the Safety and Work Protection Equipment Industry (ANIMASEG), the committee advises the Ministries of Health and Labor, as well as industry sectors, on preventive and control measures related to PPE in cases of suspected or confirmed COVID-19.<\/p>\n
The result of a partnership between the private sector and the Engineering and Automation Center of the Agronomic Institute (IAC), an agency of the SP Department of Agriculture and Supply, \u201cQuepia\u201d will work on the ANIMASEG project, integrated with professionals from the medical and health, biological, and chemical fields, among others.<\/p>\n
According to the program coordinator and scientific researcher Hamilton Ramos, the advanced laboratory of the IAC-Quepia program, located in the city of Jundia\u00ed, also collaborates in the preparation of a practical manual for health professionals.<\/p>\n
According to ANIMASEG, the manual will be ready in the coming days and will make it possible to understand the equivalence between PPE already in use during the pandemic and others that may eventually be adopted, in view of the risk scenarios for the contamination of healthcare professionals and the shortage of certain raw materials.<\/p>\n
According to Ramos, the IAC-Quepia program will celebrate its 15th anniversary next May. The knowledge generated by the initiative, as the researcher points out, has made Brazil the first country to have specific quality standards for agricultural protective clothing. The industry\u2019s participation in Quepia has also reduced the average rejection rate for PPE submitted for analysis at the IAC\u2019s Center for Engineering and Automation from 80% to 20%.<\/p>\n
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