For the researchers of comprehensive present wuhan virus epidemic prevention and control technology research and work done, tell their stories in the front line of the epidemic prevention and control scientific research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, wuhan branch director, director of the wuhan national biological safety laboratory zhi-ming yuan and deputy director of the institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, wuhan virus GuanWuXiang accepted the science and technology daily in an exclusive interview.
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On December 30 last year, we began to make all-out efforts to solve the problem
Q: when did the scientific research on covid-19 in wuhan virus institute start?What was your first assignment?
Guan wuxiang: the scientific research on covid-19 in wuhan institute of virology began on December 30, 2019.After receiving the samples of pneumonia of unknown cause from wuhan jinyintan hospital, the institute organized a superior team to carry out pathogen detection and identification overnight, and promptly reported the results to the relevant departments.
Q: since the outbreak of covid-19, what scientific research tasks have been undertaken by wuhan virus institute for the prevention and control of covid-19?How are these tasks progressing?
GuanWuXiang: since the outbreak, wuhan virus in order to identify the virus separation, pathogen detection, their antiviral drugs and vaccines development, the recovery of patients with plasma neutralizing antibody titer evaluation, animal model establishment and pathogenic mechanism of scientific research work, provide technology support for prevention and control of a line, and made positive progress.
In terms of virus isolation and identification, the whole genome sequence of the virus was obtained, the virus strain was isolated, and it was identified as novel coronavirus.The virus sequence was submitted to the world health organization on January 11 as one of the NHC’s designated agencies.
In terms of virus detection, the company has rapidly organized the research and development of nucleic acid and serological detection technologies and products, and developed the 2019novel coronavirus nucleic acid detection kit in cooperation with shenzhen united medical technology co., LTD., which has entered the emergency approval procedure of the state food and drug administration.In cooperation with zhuhai lizhu reagent co., LTD., the 2019novel coronavirus serological test kit was developed and approved by the state food and drug administration on March 14, and the medical device registration certificate was obtained.
As one of the designated institutions in wuhan, the institute has been involved in the detection of the etiology of covid-19. Since January 26, the institute has detected a total of more than 6,500 throat swabs from suspected covid-19 patients.
We also with military academy of military medical institute of the national emergency prevention and control engineering technology research center jointly carried out the listed drugs, the screening and evaluation of clinical drugs and drug candidates found method of chloroquine phosphate, horse, such as in vitro cellular level can effectively restrain 2019 will be coronavirus infection, other ongoing drug screening and evaluation.
At the same time, it cooperated with sinopedical group zhongsheng corporation in the research and development of the whole virus inactivated vaccine, which has been approved by the state food and drug administration to carry out clinical trials on April 12.
In cooperation with sinopharmaceutical group zhongsheng co., LTD., the titer of neutralizing antibody in the plasma of some convalescent patients was evaluated, and the titer of antibody was found to be up to 1:640.After further evaluation, the cooperative unit carried out relevant clinical work according to the procedure.
In terms of animal model construction, the establishment of the covid-19 rhesus monkey model has been completed, and through the evaluation of the covid-19 animal model organized by the ministry of science and technology, it is concluded that the model has been successfully constructed and can be used for the related studies on the pathogenic mechanism and transmission route, providing an important platform for the vaccine and drug evaluation of the virus.
Q: as a virus research institute, how does previous experience in virus research contribute to this outbreak?
Guan wuxiang: as early as the outbreak of SARS in 2003, the state deployed wuhan virus to undertake the construction of wuhan national biosafety laboratory.The focus of the research on medical viruses, especially highly pathogenic viruses, has been on basic research on a variety of viruses and on research and development of prevention and control technologies, which have laid the foundation and formed a reserve for dealing with emerging infectious diseases.
Especially virus related scientific research team research coronavirus has more than ten years, the reserve is applicable to the coronavirus family general nucleic acid detection method, against SARS coronavirus’s general nucleic acid and antibody detection method, virus isolation and culture methods, these methods in this outbreak early identification of pathogen work played an important role.
Q: can novel coronavirus outbreaks be predicted based on years of research into coronaviruses?
Guan wuxiang: after the outbreak of SARS in 2003, China improved the infectious disease monitoring system. With the special support of major infectious diseases, the capacity of epidemic prevention and control has been further enhanced.The existing system mainly focuses on the monitoring and early warning of infectious diseases.
The prediction of virus outbreak is a worldwide problem and difficult to predict.It is not enough for human to understand the nature of the virus and its development, transmission and pathogenesis.
To realize the transition from passive early warning to active prediction of infectious diseases, we need a number of researchers who can stick to basic research and technological research.To carry out long-term surveillance and background investigation of the virus carried by wild animals is one of the important contents to monitor the possible infectious diseases.
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Condensed form 12 scientific research team
Q: how many teams are currently working on the scientific research of covid-19 prevention and control?What exactly do these teams do?
GuanWuXiang: with the development of the outbreak, according to undertake the task of, institute of concentrate superior forces and break the discipline group set up, through the unified deployment, concise formed 12 scientific research team, a total of more than 120 people, mainly in etiology detection (20), virus monitoring (20), drug screening (17) and so on work;
Six support team a total of more than 40 people to work for scientific research to provide security, the country 2019 virus database will be coronavirus sample collection and standardized warehouse work, biosafety level 3 (P3) laboratory, biosafety level 4 (P4) laboratory is mainly responsible for the normal operation of laboratory and scientific research personnel of safety protection, etc., analysis and test center and laboratory animal center is responsible for various large-scale instrument analysis test work and to provide experimental animal protection, etc.
Q: how are the researchers working every day?
Guan wuxiang: since the outbreak of the epidemic to now, wuhan virus science and technology workers have been fighting in the first line of the fight against the epidemic.They voluntarily give up their Spring Festival holiday, overcome the inconvenience of life and other difficulties, and do their best to tackle covid-19 technology.
The average working time in the lab is about 10 to 12 hours a day, with no food, water or access to the toilet, plus preparation and data processing.In order to make efficient use of the equipment, multiple teams took turns to enter P3 laboratory in xiaohongshan and zhengdian park to carry out key problem solving activities.The pathogen detection teams with large sample sizes were divided into two groups and rotated in P3 and P2 laboratories.
For example, our 2019 covid-19 etiology detection team.Due to the small number of members in the pathogen detection team of the institute, the testing needs of a large number of samples cannot be met.At that time, a number of young party members of the institute volunteered to participate in the pathogen detection.
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What did the P4 lab do
Q: can you give us a special introduction about the research tasks and progress of P4 lab?
Yuan zhiming: the P4 laboratory is part of the wuhan national biosafety laboratory.Wuhan national biosafety laboratory consists of a P4 laboratory and two P3 laboratories. These three laboratories, together with multiple P2 laboratories, common laboratories, experimental animal facilities and related supporting facilities of wuhan institute of virology, constitute a cluster platform of biosafety laboratories.
Since December 30, 2019 received wuhan unexplained pneumonia samples, then successfully isolated from 2019 will be coronavirus, wuhan national biological safety laboratory emergency launched the 2019 will be coronavirus research laboratory and experiment for recognition of eligible to apply for work, won the 2019 will be coronavirus of cell culture, nonhuman primates and rodents infection operation qualification, legal compliance to ensure laboratory to carry out the related research work.
At the same time, the scientific research ethics review committee and the experimental animal management committee of the institute examine and approve, manage, supervise and review the conduct of animal experiments in accordance with the procedures, so as to ensure the animal welfare in the process of experiments.
Since then, wuhan national biosafety laboratory has carried out the purification and proliferation of 2019novel coronavirus, the evaluation of neutralizing antibody titer in convalescent patient plasma, the evaluation of disinfectant effect, the establishment of non-human primate model and the evaluation of antiviral drugs, the development of inactivated vaccine and animal protection experiments.
At present, the standard process of virus proliferation and inactivation has been established, the development of new disinfectant and the inactivation activity evaluation of 2019novel coronavirus have been completed, the animal infection model of rhesus monkey has been established, and the evaluation of candidate antiviral drugs and inactivated vaccines has been carried out.The establishment of animal models provides an important basis for the study of viral infection and the evaluation of the efficacy of other antiviral drugs and new vaccines.
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Layers of checkpoints ensure that the virus does not leak
Q: as the laboratory with the highest level of biosafety protection, what protective measures should researchers take when entering and exiting the P4 laboratory?
Yuan zhiming: all researchers conducting experiments in the P4 laboratory must undergo systematic theoretical and practical training, as well as annual physical and mental health assessments.Only with the approval of the director of the laboratory can he be admitted to the laboratory after obtaining the qualification for the post.
Before entering the laboratory, the biosecurity personnel shall confirm that the basic physical conditions (blood pressure, body temperature, etc.) of the researchers are normal and meet the requirements of experimental operation.In the specific operation process, only qualified and authorized laboratory personnel can enter the P4 ring corridor through the access control system, check the operation status of the laboratory, fill in the registration form for entry and exit of laboratory personnel, and inform the monitoring center.
Then, the experimenter enters the first changing room of the laboratory through the access control system again, takes off personal clothes, changes the disposable internal protective clothing, checks the status of the positive pressure protective clothing, then puts on the positive pressure protective clothing, and connects the breathing air supply hose.After completing the above steps, enter the core laboratory through the chemical shower.
To ensure biosafety and biosecurity, the lab requires no fewer than two people working at the same time, and no one can enter the lab alone.
Researchers usually exit the lab by the same route they used to enter it.Before exiting, chemical disinfectant disinfection and rinse with clean water should be carried out in the chemical shower, and the positive pressure protective clothing should be thoroughly disinfected.After removing the inner protective clothing, all personnel must take a sanitary shower, put on their own clothes, exit the laboratory, fill in the “laboratory personnel entry and exit registration form”, and the experiment activity is completed.
In the laboratory, all the contacts between the researchers and the outside world are made through the monitoring center. If there is any abnormal situation, the monitoring center will be contacted immediately.When there are experiments, the monitoring center will be fully equipped with biosecurity, biosecurity and equipment support personnel to ensure the ability to handle various emergencies.
Q: what are the unique protection techniques and measures in the P4 laboratory to prevent the outflow of laboratory viruses?
Yuan zhiming: the core part of wuhan P4 laboratory is surrounded by a stainless steel enclosure, forming a “box within a box” structure.The core laboratory envelope ensures sufficient structural strength and sealing to form a static seal.
The laboratory dynamic seal adopts the negative pressure technology to ensure the strict and orderly pressure gradient between the functional areas, so as to effectively prevent the air polluted by infectious pathogens from spreading to the areas with low pollution probability and the external environment.
For the gas discharged from the laboratory, the two-stage high efficiency filter is used to filter and discharge, so as to ensure the safety of the laboratory exhaust.Laboratory waste water is discharged after being treated at high temperature by the sewage treatment system;After high temperature and high pressure treatment with shuangfei autoclave sterilizer, the contaminated waste in the laboratory shall be safely removed and disposed by a qualified centralized medical waste disposal unit.
When the personnel pass through the passage, the chemical shower device shall be used to carry out chemical disinfection on the positive pressure protective clothing of the experimental personnel, so as to ensure the safety of the passage.Through the above technical protection measures, the virus can not escape from the laboratory.
The laboratory not only has high-standard biosafety facilities, but also has established a strict biosafety management system, including scientific research projects, personnel, experimental animals, waste disposal, infectious materials management and a series of procedure documents and standard operating manuals, so as to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the laboratory.
The physical facilities of the laboratory shall be inspected by a third party every year, and the operation of the laboratory shall be subject to the supervision and evaluation of the China national accreditation service for conformity assessment and the annual inspection by the relevant departments of the state.
Q: the research on 2019novel coronavirus needs to be carried out continuously for a long time. What will be done in the future?
Guan wuxiang: the institute will continue to focus on the urgent needs of rapid disposal and emergency response in science and technology. It will focus on pathogen detection, development of antiviral drugs and vaccines, evaluation of neutralizing antibody titer in convalescent patients’ plasma, animal model and pathogenic mechanism research, etc.
To meet the long-term needs of the prevention and control of infectious diseases, the institute will continue to carry out basic research in the field of biosecurity and public health, as well as research and development of prevention and control technologies, so as to provide scientific support and decision-making advice for the maintenance of biosecurity.