Lanzhou city, illustration -
NEW CHINA / SIPA
In 2019, a bacterium escapes from a Chinese laboratory in Lanzhou.
It will contaminate nearly 3,500 people.
The information has just been made official this week, after the Chinese authorities wanted to hide the facts.
Concretely, how are the laboratories handling diseases protected and what happened in Lanzhou?
3,245 people were infected in China after a bacterium, brucellosis, leaked from a bio-pharmaceutical factory in Lanzhou, producing vaccines for animals.
If the facts go back to last year - no need to blame this on this year 2020 of all the evils -, the case has barely been publicized by a local media, after the Chinese authorities have long concealed the facts .
Scared of the coronavirus, rest assured, the bacteria is not contagious between humans.
No case of transmission has been observed, have also reminded the health authorities.
Just the bacteria can cause fevers and joint pain.
If we therefore avoid escaping a second global pandemic, the question of safety in laboratories arises.
Are all labs secured the same?
The laboratories are sorted by category according to the nature of the diseases they study, informs us Carine Milcent, researcher at the CNRS and specialist in health systems, China and health economics, from P1 to P4 (P for class pathogen);
P4 is therefore the absolute level with one of the extremely lethal diseases that do not have an effective vaccination, such as Ebola in particular.
The United States Center for Disease Prevention and Control classifies diseases according to their different levels of risk.
And laboratory security levels therefore depend on this classification.
Ha!
Because we hear you from here asking the question, let us point out that coronaviruses of all types are all of the P3 family - because no, the latest child to invade the planet cannot by itself move a classification .
So how are laboratories adapting?
"For a P4, the level of safety is comparable to that of a nuclear power plant, they are gems of technology, which have an extremely high cost," says the researcher.
"Not all countries can have them given their complexity and the associated costs," she notes.
And that is another security advantage: P4s are so demanding and technical that they often require international expertise and collaboration.
Foreign researchers who notably guarantee that the country complies with standards.
Regarding the P3 and P4, everyone is housed internationally in the same boat and must follow the same safety standards.
In the context of a P4 for example, accredited persons must take a shower when entering and leaving, put on a diving suit, never enter the laboratory alone, be continuously filmed, etc.
Finally, last point, their rarity, which statistically ensures that they have less risk.
“For P1s and P2s, there are a lot more laboratories in the world, and a lot less binding standards, even though they obviously exist.
The chances are therefore stronger that there will be a leak, but it will have much less catastrophic consequences ”, informs Carine Milcent.
What happened to this bacteria?
As part of this bacteria, the culprit of the leak has been identified: it is an expired disinfectant, according to Chinese health authorities, used during the production of anti-brucellosis vaccines (intended for animals).
Bad sterilization therefore, and gases still containing the bacteria were released from the company, gradually contaminating a veterinary laboratory nearby.
And for a bacterium that spreads in particular by animals, this explains the number of contamination.
"We may be as secure as possible, we are never safe from an accident," underlines Carine Milcent, who once again takes the example of nuclear power plants.
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