World's most dangerous labs RANKED: China scores ZERO out of 100 for handling ... trends now

World's most dangerous labs RANKED: China scores ZERO out of 100 for handling ... trends now
World's most dangerous labs RANKED: China scores ZERO out of 100 for handling ... trends now

World's most dangerous labs RANKED: China scores ZERO out of 100 for handling ... trends now

Countries with the laxest rules governing laboratories that house the world's most dangerous pathogens were today named and shamed.

Saudi Arabia, Gabon, and Cote d'Ivoire came bottom of the pile in terms of safety standards inside Biosaftey Level 4 labs, secretive sites which often harbor pathogens like smallpox, Ebola and Lassa fever.  

Canada, the US, Australia and the UK had some of the best standards overall, according to infectious disease experts who ranked all known facilities across the world.

China, however, ranked middle of the pile overall.   

This graph shows the countries wither either operational or planned high risk labs ranked by the strength of their biorisk management polices that could prevent a deadly pathogen from being released or developed. The lower the score, the fewer or weaker the measures in place

This graph shows the countries wither either operational or planned high risk labs ranked by the strength of their biorisk management polices that could prevent a deadly pathogen from being released or developed. The lower the score, the fewer or weaker the measures in place

This graph shows rules and restrictions governing research that could make high risk pathogens deadlier. Only Canada, the US and UK scored 50 or more

This graph shows rules and restrictions governing research that could make high risk pathogens deadlier. Only Canada, the US and UK scored 50 or more

Gain of function research: Everything you need to know about the risky lab experiments

What is gain of function? 

It is a highly controversial research practise that involves intentionally altering a pathogen, in order to improve its ability to cause disease.

At its most basic level, scientists modify them to make them more infectious or lethal. 

Usually, trials are carried out on human cells or rodents — to see how they behave under tightly-controlled lab settings. 

Why is it done? 

The reason for such experiments is they allow scientists to effectively see 'around the corner' and anticipate how a pathogen might evolve naturally.

It also gives scientists a chance to better understand its effects on humans, and how it behaves.

This can, in theory, speed up the development of drugs and vaccines, especially for infectious diseases that are currently untreatable.

Is it dangerous? 

Gain of function research — despite being carried out in biocontainment facilities with workers in hazmat suits and sealed doors — is hugely controversial.

Critics argue the benefits of the research are not worth the potential risks, however tiny they are.

Some scientists fear the development of mutant viruses could lead to the next pandemic, if they were to ever accidentally leak from a lab.

Such an event is one of the origin theories for the original Covid virus, which was first spotted in Wuhan, near the now infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Defenders insist that such changes can, however, occur naturally. 

Is it only done on Covid?

Despite being thrust into the limelight during the Covid pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 isn't the only pathogen to have been experimented on in this way.

Gain of function has been used for years, including by creating more drought-resistant plants and modifying E. coli so that it break down plastic waste.

What constitutes gain of function?

There is huge debate among experts about what exactly constitutes 'gain of function' research.

Some studies do not set out to intentionally create a more dangerous pathogen, but may do so while modifying it to learn more about how it infects cells.

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Yet when it came to dual research, a branch of experiments that can include 'gain of function' - which carries the risk of making pathogens more deadly, it scored zero out of 100.  

One of these noted by the experts is China's infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which is thought by some experts to have accidently unleashed the original Covid virus onto the world in 2020. 

The lab has been accused of conducting experiments intentionally modifying pathogens to make them more dangerous, a practise which experts fear could trigger the next pandemic.

Such research can include incredibly controversial 'gain of function' studies.

This is where scientists intentionally make pathogens more infectious, deadly, or more resistant to drugs or vaccines.

Defenders of the practise say such scientific work helps prepare for the potential natural evolution of viruses and bacteria, giving experts a head-start on research to combat them.

But critics claim the labs doing this work risk unleashing the next global pandemic if the pathogen they are working on ever breaches containment.

Some even suspect this has already happened, with the leak of such an engineered virus from the WIV into the Wuhan wet markets and then to the rest of the world one of suspected origins of the pandemic that has claimed millions of lives.

The infamous lab carried out studies on types of coronaviruses found in bats, with some arguing this work constituted gain of function experiments, though others refute this.

Now an international team of experts have ranked the countries with the best and worst rules and regulations governing BSL-4 labs.

While China scored 0 for research regulations, it was not the worst performer overall. 

Each of the 27 countries with an operational BSL-4 lab, or one under construction or planned, was given an overall biorisk management percentage score out of 100.

This represented the strength of its rules on aspects like lab safety, security procedures to stop pathogens being stolen, and research oversight and approval. 

Saudi Arabia, where a lab called the National Health Laboratory is listed as 'planned', had the lowest overall score of 6 per cent. 

Gabon in Central Africa was the lowest scorer with an actual operational lab, scoring 8 per cent.

China' overall management score was in the middle of the pack, 69 per cent. 

The UK and the US were high scorers in overall risk management, ranked fourth and second at 83 per cent and 88 per cent, respectively. 

Canada was the best performer by far, scoring 96 per cent.

This was, in part, due to Canada's strict rules regarding research on the modification of pathogens, the only country to receive a good ranking in this separate category by Global Biolabs, a team of biosecrity experts which carried out the research.

And this map shows the overall biorisk management scores for nations with either an operational or underway BSL-4 lab. Countries shaded green and ranked as good, yelow medium, and red poor

And this map shows the overall biorisk management scores for nations with either an operational or underway BSL-4 lab. Countries shaded green and ranked as good, yelow medium, and red poor

Pictured: The Wuhan Institute of Virology, where some experts think Covid escaped into the wider world

Pictured: The Wuhan Institute of Virology, where some experts think Covid escaped into the wider world

Virologist Shi Zheng-li works with her colleague in the P4 lab of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Hubei province - which is at the heart of the lab-leak theory. Nicknamed the 'Bat Lady', Zheng-li hunted down dozens of deadly Covid-like viruses in bat caves and studied them at the WIV

Virologist Shi Zheng-li works with her colleague in the P4 lab of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Hubei province - which is at the heart of the lab-leak theory. Nicknamed the 'Bat Lady', Zheng-li hunted down dozens of deadly Covid-like viruses in bat caves and studied them at the WIV

In addition to China, other 0 scorers included Belarus, Czech Republic, Gabon, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Spain.

The UK and the US were only medium performers in this category, scoring 50 per cent each. 

By total biorisk management score, seven countries were rated high (above 70 per cent) 15 score medium (above 30 per cent) and five scored below this. 

In total, the Global Biolabs team found 52 BSl-4 labs in operation around the world, with 17 more either being built or planned. 

Of these 69 the vast majority, four out of five, are in

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