The coronavirus pandemic has prompted a global surge in laboratories handling dangerous viruses – despite concerns that Covid may have been the result of the risky experiments.
More than 40 facilities certified as Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) or BSL-4 have either been built or under construction since 2020, mostly in Asia.
Many countries believe they have been caught flat-footed by Covid and want to forestall the next devastating outbreak by studying pathogens that pose a threat to humans.
Experiments in these labs often involve tinkering with animal viruses to advance treatments and vaccines that could be used in a future outbreak.
But there are widespread concerns that these experiments could actually increase the risk of pandemics – something some experts believe was the case with Covid.
The virus first started spreading from a wet market in Wuhan, about eight miles from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a high-security biolab working with dangerous bat coronaviruses.
There, scientists were working on some of Covid’s closest relatives. They were also found to have wiped vital databases and stifled independent investigations into the lab’s links to the pandemic.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia in England, told DailyMail.com he was concerned about what all the new labs would be used for.
“The question is what you’re going to use [the labs] for,” he told this website. “If they are used for diagnostic purposes, then you need them. But I don’t think every country needs a BSL-4.”
He added, “If they start having a dual purpose for research that has offensive military implications, that’s the concern.”
Russia has outlined its proposals for 15 of the maximum safety labs and India is targeting a total of 18 BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs. The US is also adding another top-level biosafety laboratory to its existing 12.
There are currently 63 BSL-4 laboratories worldwide, the highest level of security. This is more than the 59 that were in operation or planned last year. Three quarters are in urban areas. South America and Africa are some of the places that don’t have access to the labs
Whether the global outbreak started with a spillover from wild animals sold at the market or leaked from the Wuhan lab just eight miles across the Yangtze River has sparked heated debates about how to prevent the next pandemic. Now, two new studies point to natural spread at the wildlife market in Huanan. Positive swab samples from floors, cages and counters are also tracing the virus to stalls in the south-west corner of the market (below left), where animals with the potential to harbor Covid were then sold for meat or fur (below right).
Pictured: The Wuhan Institute of Virology, where key data was deleted by Chinese scientists
Virologist Shi Zheng-li works with her colleague at the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s P4 lab in Hubei Province — the heart of the lab leak theory. Zheng-li, nicknamed “Bat Lady,” hunted down dozens of deadly Covid-like viruses in bat caves and studied them at WIV
Work on the live virus that causes Covid must be done in a BSL-3 or BSL-4 lab.
In the BSL-3 labs, researchers conduct all experiments in a “biosafety cabinet” — an enclosed, ventilated workspace for handling pathogen-contaminated materials.
The labs also have self-closing doors, sealed windows, floors and walls, and filtered ventilation systems.
Full-body, air-supplied pressure suits are worn in a BSL-4 laboratory, and workers are required to change their clothing before entering and shower before exiting.
The laboratory is in a separate part of the building and has its own air supply.
India is currently building five BSL-3 plants and is proposing at least nine more. Four institutions plan to build BSL-4 laboratories with the highest level of security.
Currently India has three BSL-4 laboratories but only one is operational.
In addition, the Indian government has agreed to set up four new national institutes of virology, two of which will deal with BSL-4 pathogens in the future.
In Asia, too, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Singapore intend to build their first BSL-4 plants. The US is to add another BSL-4 laboratory to its existing group of 12 maximum biosafety level facilities.
Russia also announced last year that it would build 15 BSL-4 labs, but gave little to no details.
More biochemical safety labs at the highest level means more high-risk research can be done, including gain-of-function studies that alter pathogens, potentially making them more deadly.
There are currently 63 BSL-4 laboratories worldwide.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia in England, told DailyMail.com the concern isn’t that higher-level safety labs are popping up around the world, but what they’re being used for.
He said that BSL-4 labs are “a whole notch up” compared to BSL-3 labs, adding “they are very rare”.
In terms of human pathogens, “really bad” things like Ebola and Lassa fever would be handled in the BSL-4 labs.
This is because “many of the pathogens you would handle in Category 4 labs are known to be bioterrorism and biological warfare agents in the wrong hands,” he said.
The theory that Covid escaped from the Wuhan BSL-4 lab has been largely disproved, but it is possible that viruses are leaking from research settings.
Professor Hunter said: ‘What is special about a BSL-4 laboratory is that it significantly reduces the risk of virus leakage, although it does not always guarantee it.’
He added: “There are some lab-acquired infections from lab workers picking things up. Most of them are relatively minor, but there is always cause for concern.”
“We have had, and still have, lab escape issues around the world,” he added.
But he said Category 4 labs are theoretically the safest places to handle the risky pathogens.
And to some extent, the high-level biosecurity labs are needed.
Professor Hunter said: ‘You have to do some work on it, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to deal with an Ebola outbreak. You must have these and they must be reasonably readily available.’
He said that “there are some things that people do that could do significant harm if released,” adding “the nervousness is when you have facilities like this, whether you then start doing inappropriate research or development.” to operate, which will ultimately have more sinister consequences”.
Finally, Professor Hunter said he was not concerned about the emerging labs because “there are perfectly good, absolutely necessary reasons why you might want them.”
He said: “If I was in charge of stuff in India and I knew we were struggling to manage the early stages of the Covid outbreak because we didn’t have access to appropriate Category 4 laboratories, I’d be damn sure I wanted to Build category level 4 labs to ensure I could better serve the populace if we had this problem again.
“But would I be concerned if people started using these labs for research that could end up being harmful? Then yes.’
