UK scientists set up new lab in Wiltshire to prepare for next pandemic dubbed ‘Disease X’

A team of more than 200 scientists is preparing for the next big pandemic at a high-security laboratory in the United Kingdom, readying vaccines before the impending threats strike. According to Sky News, the work to defend the world against new viruses is being carried out at the Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire. 

Scientists at the facility have created a list of animal viruses that can pose a threat to mankind and have a tendency to spread at a high rate. It is unclear which of those viruses will succeed the coronavirus pandemic, so the team has dubbed the unknown threat as "Disease X". 

UKHSA sheds light on the new lab

The research centre, which is operated by the UK Health Security Agency, holds within high-containment labs where several pathogens such as hantavirus, monkeypox, and bird flu are being studied. Initially, the facility served as a coronavirus variants and vaccine lab. 

"What we're trying to do here is ensure that we prepare so that if we have a new Disease X, a new pathogen, we have done as much of that work in advance as possible. Hopefully we can prevent it [a pandemic]. But if we can't and we have to respond, then we have already started developing vaccines and therapeutics to crack it," explained Professor Dame Jenny Harries, the head of the UKHSA. 

What could be the next pandemic? 

The laboratory's most recent accomplishment is the world's first vaccine against Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, a widespread disease caused by ticks. The infection, which has a high fatality rate of 30%, has spread to several parts of Europe amid brutal heatwaves.

According to Prof Harries, extreme climate events and big changes in population can increase the risk of another pandemic."What we're seeing is a rising risk globally. Some of that is because of things like urbanisation where you may get virus jumping into humans [living close-by], as we've seen with bird flu. And some of it is because of climate change where you get things like ticks and mosquitoes moving to where it was previously cold and is now becoming increasingly warm," she noted. 

Experts speculate that bird flu is most likely the next pandemic, keeping in mind that at least 30,000 seabirds have died around the UK this summer with the H5N1 virus spreading around the world. At least four poultry farm workers have also contracted the disease, however, have only experienced mild symptoms.