Japan lab to handle deadliest viruses

TOKYO:

A research  lab in Tokyo suburb  will start
handling some of the world's deadliest viruses
for the first time,officials said Tuesday ,after
local opposition blocked it for decades,

Japan has no active maximum level-four
biosafety labs so the move will bring it in line
with the other G7 nations-there are about 40
such sites worldwide including some run by
the US Center for Disease Control and Prevetion
(CDC)

The Tokyo   lab was built in 1981 and designed
to handle the most dangerous known viruses,
requiring scientists to wear full body suits
with oxygen intakes to avoid contamination .

But local opponents feared exposure,arguing
that the neighbourhood with schools and other
community buildings would be at risk.
In response,the site was downgraded to a level
three facility where  scientists can work with
certain microbes such as the Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus and the
bacteria that cause tuberculosis

The decision to boost it to the highest biosafety
level came as Health Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki
signed an agreement  with the mayor of the
Musashimurayama  suburb on Monday

A health ministry spokesman said the upgrade
would mean the lab could handle Ebola and the
Lassa fever viruses among others

Healthcare experts welcome the move,saying
Japan trailed other countries including the
United States ,France,and Singapore --and was
hampered in its ability to  contain deadly viruses
in the event of an outbreak
AFP