High-level bio labs planned for Guangdong

Planning for 25 to 30 Level 3 biosafety laboratories is underway in Guangdong province.

The labs, designated P3, are just one notch below P4, the highest biosafety level, which is used for diagnostic work and research on highly virulent and easily transmitted deadly pathogens, such as Ebola virus.

Seven or eight of the P3 labs should be able to carry out research on large animals, said Wang Ruijun, director of the provincial science and technology department and a deputy to the National People's Congress.

"We hope we can primarily meet the demand for P3 labs in three years and build at least one P4 lab in five years," he said.

In early 2018, China began using it first P4 biosafety lab.

Wang said there are five P3 labs in Guangdong, which are not sophisticated enough to support big animal experiments.

With its subtropical climate, international hub ports and superlarge cities, Guangdong often stands at the forefront of transmissible disease outbreaks and imported transmissible diseases, Wang said.

It is important to build infrastructure and have the capacity to test pathogens quickly in emergencies, Wang said, as well as to conduct research.

A number of hospitals and research organizations in Guangdong have applied to build P3 or P4 labs.