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.

There have been more than 70,000 deaths from the new coronavirus in the United States, and there are thousands of new cases every day. However, there is still one area in the United States where no confirmed cases have been found and no deaths have occurred: American Samoa.

American public health officials said that the successful fight against epidemic in American Samoa was not accidental. In the early days of the spread of the new coronavirus, the island quickly took action, almost halted all inbound flights, rapidly improved its detection capabilities, and took advantage of the social distance measures taken in response to the measles outbreak at the end of last year. Today, this Polynesian island surrounded by palm trees has been isolated from the outside world for nearly two months.

△ The local beach is closed. According to the “New York Times”

There are a total of 55,000 residents in American Samoa. During the outbreak, they were allowed to enter bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, but the number of people entering and leaving these public places has decreased in the past month, because the store can only have a maximum of 10 customers at a time. . Although the working hours of civil servants here have changed from full-time to part-time, they have not stopped entering the office. The largest local private employer is a canned tuna factory with more than 2,000 employees. During the epidemic, the factory continued to operate.

Peter Brown, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in American Samoa, said: “Life in American Samoa is still normal, but due to transportation restrictions, supplies are somewhat inadequate.”

The stupid bird flies first if it is unable to cope: it is isolated at the beginning

American Samoa is about 2,575 kilometers from New Zealand and about 3,541 kilometers from Hawaii. In an interview with the New York Times by phone, text message, and social media, the locals described a feeling of being relieved and lonely about their situation now, and worried about the future of this land, because most people here There are cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, which may increase the risk of dying from the new coronavirus.

“Since the flight was grounded in March, the sky has been quiet and creepy,” said Monica Miller, news director of a local radio station.

Seeing the spread of the virus in parts of Asia, Governor Lolo M. Moliga took decisive steps several weeks ahead of other states in the United States.

In early March, Moliga stopped flights to and from Hawaii in the area twice a week, and then canceled flights to Apia, the neighboring capital of Samoa. Since then, the only external route in the area has been a cargo plane that transports medical supplies and food from Hawaii every week.

In March this year, the American Samoa government quickly established a new coronavirus task force. In addition to closing churches and schools, it also adopted a series of relatively mild social alienation measures. For example, public gatherings in game halls and theaters were suspended, and correctional facilities suspended visits.

△ The local church is closed. According to the “New York Times”

There is a lack of medical staff in the area, and there is only one hospital, the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center, which can only treat approximately 10 patients with new coronary pneumonia at a time. In addition to submitting samples collected from suspected cases to the American Public Health Laboratory in Hawaii thousands of miles away to wait for the results, they themselves do not have the ability to detect and analyze.

Larry Sanitoa, a member of the American Samoa Parliament Fono and chairman of the “Hope House” nursing home, said, “That was a very terrible period, like flying blindly in a storm.”

The harvest of the 1918 pandemic: keep a high degree of vigilance

Moliga stated in a letter to US President Trump in March this year that American Samoa needed assistance. At the same time, they are doing everything they can to help other people, including the hundreds of Americans on the Norwegian Gem cruise. After being rejected at ports in Fiji and French Polynesia, the cruise ship was allowed to refuel in American Samoa.

Since then, American Samoa has received at least US $ 35 million in federal assistance, as well as more than 1,000 kits and a machine for analyzing test results, in response to the new crown pandemic.

Iulogologo Joseph Pereira, head of the New Samoa Virus Task Force in American Samoa, said that since receiving the machine in mid-April, they have done dozens of tests with negative results.

△ Pereira, the head of the American Samoa New Coronavirus Task Force, according to the “New York Times”

Due to the above test results and no signs of the virus spreading locally, the area remains the only area in the United States that has not been declared a major disaster. Pereira said that several recent outbreaks of the virus, such as the Zika virus in 2016, dengue fever in 2017 and 2018, and measles in 2019, affected American Samoa ’s decision at the beginning of the crisis.

“We have been preparing for a major disaster for some time,” he said. After the measles outbreak here in December last year, health officials are already on high alert because 83 people have died from measles in the neighboring Samoa It is a child under 5 years old.

In 1918, the pandemic took the lives of 8,500 people in neighbouring Samoa. But American Samoa has adopted isolation measures, as it is now, which makes American Samoa one of the few areas in the world where no one died in the flu pandemic.

Tamari Mulitalo-Cheung, a writer who teaches at American Samoa Community College, said: “The strict measures at that time saved American Samoa from death, and we cannot deviate from this principle today.”

Anthony fauci, a top us infectious disease expert and director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases under the national institutes of health, said in an interview that there is no scientific evidence that a Chinese laboratory manufactured a novel coronavirus.Fauci, meanwhile, rejects the notion that viruses are found in the wild, brought back to the lab, and then released from the lab.

Fauci: no scientific evidence showing a novel coronavirus from a laboratory in China

Novel coronavirus manufactured by Chinese laboratory?Fauci: there is no proof

Fauci told national geographic that there was no scientific evidence that the novel coronavirus was manufactured by a Chinese laboratory.Fauci also denied that anyone had found the virus in the wild, brought it back to the lab, and then leaked it from the lab, saying that in itself meant the virus had been in the wild in the first place.

“Novel coronavirus evolved naturally to spread across species.”

If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats, fauci said, there is a strong tendency to suggest that the virus was not created or manipulated, and that the mutation is the natural way of evolution.Fauci added that many evolutionary biologists have said that the gradual evolution of the virus over time strongly suggests that the virus evolved in nature and then spread across species.

On April 18, fauci refuted the conspiracy theory that “a novel coronavirus came from a Chinese laboratory,” refuting the unfounded fallacy that the virus was transmitted from animals to humans.

△ business insider: Dr. Fauci pours cold water on the conspiracy theory that the virus was made in a Chinese lab

Fauci accuses politicians of “circular reasoning” about the origins of the virus

Fauci also stressed in the national geographic interview that he does not think a novel coronavirus will go away, but will remain.His biggest concern is that if the United States does not reduce infection rates by summer, it may be tested by a second wave of outbreaks this fall and winter.Fauci said the United States should focus on strengthening the nation’s health care system, making sure hospital beds, ventilators, and protective equipment for health care workers are available and tested by those in need.He also stressed the importance of maintaining a social distance for now.

In the interview, fauci also dismissed recent heated discussions between politicians and experts as “circular.”

Who reiterates that the novel coronavirus originated naturally in the United States should present evidence of challenge

A world health organization (who) official on Thursday dismissed claims by U.S. President Donald trump and secretary of state mike pompeo that the novel coronavirus came from avirus research institute in wuhan, capital of central China’s hubei province.

Who: all the evidence indicates that a novel coronavirus originated in nature

According to business insider on May 2, jona marzet, an epidemiologist at the university of California, Davis, refuted claims that a novel coronavirus originated from the wuhan virus research institute, and listed four reasons.

The new coronavirus epidemic has made medical ventilator a worldwide sought-after product, and the ventilator was once a priceless product in the market. Recently, many experts have dismantled the opportunities for the ventilator industry in depth during the live broadcast.

The ventilator is divided into domestic breathing support equipment, sleep apnea treatment equipment, therapeutic ventilator, first-aid and transport ventilator, high-frequency ventilator, home ventilator, etc. Gao Jiajia’s managing partner Wang Haijiao said that before the epidemic, the consumption of high-end ventilator was small, and the demand for sleep ventilator was large. After the epidemic, there was a large demand for high-end ventilator. .

“The biggest experience in supporting Wuhan is that medical resources are limited. Many patients need to enter the ward urgently. Ventilator and oxygen are problems.” Li Wentao, deputy chief physician of the Department of Intensive Medicine of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, said that the hospital used oxygen cylinders. There are two types of ventilator, a non-invasive ventilator; another type of invasive ventilator requires intubation into the respiratory tract. Critical patients need to switch from non-invasive ventilator to invasive ventilator. At present, invasive ventilators are still mainly imported. Previously all of them were imported. In the past two years, domestic ventilator brands have gradually entered hospitals, and their quality has been continuously improved. Domestic ventilators can meet 70% -80% of the demand.

Wang Haijiao explained that the research and development of invasive ventilator is more difficult than that of non-invasive ventilator. The development time of non-invasive ventilator is about two years, and that of invasive ventilator is at least three to five years. In terms of production requirements and production environment requirements, invasive are higher than non-invasive, and consumables are more invasive than non-invasive. At present, the production level of China’s ventilator is still some distance away from the top countries, but the number of countries that can produce ventilator in the world is still small.

It is reported that the components of the ventilator are very complicated, and the production of an invasive ventilator requires more than 1,000 parts. Most of the suppliers of key components are foreign manufacturers. Taking the chip as an example, the chip of the ventilator belongs to a type with a relatively high technical content, and it must have extremely large data processing capabilities to ensure the reliability and safety of the ventilator. Zhang Jingyang, chairman of Moore Elite, said that in addition to the chip, some parts of the medical ventilator are supplied by foreign manufacturers, such as solenoid valves. The solenoid valves are actually switching valves for the oxygen source of the ventilator. Currently, the main suppliers There are two, one is the MAC of the United States, and the other is the Kang Maosheng of Italy.

The relevant person in charge of a medical equipment company that produces ventilators in Nanjing said that the company’s proportional valves are from Germany and Italy, turbo fans are from Germany, and pressure sensors are from the United States. “We are also trying to use alternative materials, but the ventilator has strict requirements on the long-term reliability and safety of the equipment. Only by solving the material supply of the source supplier can we increase the production capacity with quality and quantity.”