Publication date: 08/08/2023 08:00
Climate change and urbanization have increased the risk of a new pandemic. Photo collage: Profimedia Images
British researchers have begun developing new vaccines in anticipation of the coming pandemic caused by a so-called “Disease X”, reports Sky News.
The mission is carried out in Porton Down, a high-security laboratory complex in Wiltshire belonging to the British government, where a team of more than 200 scientists work.
They created a list of dangerous animal viruses that could infect humans and spread rapidly throughout the world.
Which one will emerge and trigger the next pandemic remains to be seen, which is why scientists have dubbed this new threat “Disease X.”
The laboratory in Porton Down where new vaccines are being developed against the next pandemics. Photo: Profimedia Images
“What we’re trying to do here is make sure we’re prepared so that if we have a new Disease X, a new pathogen, we’ve done as much of that work as possible,” said the head of Britain’s Health Security Agency ( UKHSA), Jenny Harries.
“We hope we can prevent a pandemic. But if we can’t and must respond, then we’ve already started developing vaccines and therapeutic agents to address it.”
The Vaccine Development and Evaluation Center in Porton Down has been expanded to carry out the mission. Initially, he was working on Covid and testing the effectiveness of vaccines against new variants.
Now, scientists at the center are now involved in monitoring several high-risk pathogens, such as bird flu, monkeypox and hantavirus, a disease spread by rodents.
An early success came with the development of the first vaccine against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a tick-borne disease that has a 30 percent mortality rate.
The first clinical trials have begun, with 24 volunteers to receive the vaccine. The disease is becoming more common in Europe as global temperatures rise and European tourists return from countries where they have been infected.
Researchers at Porton Down monitor several high-risk pathogens such as bird flu, monkeypox and hantavirus, a disease spread by rodents. Photo: Profimedia Images
Climate change and urbanization have increased the risk of a new pandemic.
Bird flu is considered the biggest threat at the moment. At least 30,000 seabirds have died this summer in Britain alone from a new strain of the H5N1 virus that has spread around the world.
The UKHSA has started monitoring people who have come into contact with farmed birds in case the virus can spread without causing symptoms.
The British agency is part of a global effort to develop a vaccine within 100 days of the discovery of a new pathogen that could trigger a pandemic.
Bird flu is considered the biggest threat at the moment. Photo: Profimedia Images
“Historically, this would be unprecedented,” Harries said. “Normally it would take 5 to 10 years. For Covid, it was around 360 days.”
It’s a very ambitious project, but for some viruses, it’s certainly possible, Harries said.
Editor: Raul Nețoiu
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2023-08-08 05:00:47
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