Science and Technology Daily: As an institute that specializes in studying viruses, how has your previous experience into virus research helped in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak?
Guan Wuxiang: The WIV began construction of the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory following the 2003 SARS epidemic. The Institute focuses on virus research, especially highly pathogenic viruses. We have carried out basic research into and developed prevention and control technologies for a variety of viruses, which laid the foundation for coping with outbreaks of new infectious diseases.
In particular, the Institute's research team has been studying coronaviruses for over a decade. It is equipped with general nucleic acid testing techniques for coronaviruses, commonly used methods for detecting nucleic acid and antibodies of SARS-like coronaviruses, and virus isolation and cultivation methods. These all played an important role in the identification of pathogens during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Science and Technology Daily: Considering the Institute's years of experience researching coronaviruses, is it possible to predict novel coronavirus outbreaks?
Guan Wuxiang: Since the SARS outbreak in 2003, China has improved its infectious disease surveillance system and further strengthened its infectious disease prevention and control capacity by means of special support projects for researching major infectious diseases. The existing system is mainly focused on the surveillance of and the early warning for infectious diseases. Currently, it is not possible to actively predict outbreaks.
Forecasting virus outbreaks and pandemics is a difficult task all across the world. Humans are not especially aware of all the viruses that exist in nature and the patterns of their occurrence, development, spread and pathogenesis. To develop from the current level of passive warnings to the level of active forecasting, a group of diligent researchers are needed to continue basic research and technological development. Carrying out long-term monitoring and investigation of viruses found in wild animals is an important task in monitoring possible infectious diseases.
