Does Porton Down Offer Any Hope Of Stopping The Next Pandemic?

Following the devastation wreaked by Covid-19, our scientists have increased their efforts to prevent the next major pandemic from destroying the UK.

A new super-laboratory housed at the covert Porton Down military installation is critical to their work. It is claimed to be one of Europe's largest high-containment laboratories, capable of testing deadly live viruses.

In the aftermath of the coronavirus, it is preparing prototype vaccines that can be altered for the next "Disease X" within 100 days of its detection. The Daily Mirror was granted exclusive access to the military complex outside Salisbury, Wiltshire, which houses the world's oldest chemical warfare research centre.

The New 'Super-laboratory' Designed To Prevent 'Disease X'

Credit: Daily Mirror

The centre was created by Dame Jenny Harries, the head of the UK Health Security Agency, who warned that pandemics like Covid-19 were becoming more possible due to climate change and expanding world population.

She believes population surveillance and quickly produced vaccines could prevent a new outbreak before lockdowns are required. "We say Covid was a once-in-a-century event, but I don't think any of us think it will be another century before we get another one," Dame Jenny continued.

"We can prepare for some virus families if we don't know what Disease X is." We want to be better prepared to prevent a pandemic from occurring. In addition to building on the pandemic's legacy, this will target a wide range of other lethal viruses and infections, helping protect the UK's health and prosperity and save lives worldwide."

Scientists at the 7,000-acre Porton Down site were among the first in the last century to develop biological weapons. Their primary focus now is on combating terrorism and protecting the United Kingdom from contagious diseases. The base was at the forefront of the global fight against Covid-19, with labs rapidly expanding to test current vaccines on new virus forms.

Credit: Daily Mirror

UKHSA has taken over these tasks and constructed a new ?405 million Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre on the MoD site. VDEC has permitted a 30-fold increase in high containment capacity to test live viruses compared to before the pandemic, which many countries do not have. It can now examine 3,000 developing viruses and novel variations per week, up from just 100 before Covid.

According to specialists, there have been outbreaks in Spain and Turkey, and ticks carrying the virus have already been discovered in the New Forest. They warned that climate change could bring them in large numbers to Britain. VDEC is also preparing for "Disease X," an undiscovered pathogen that could cause millions of fatalities in a future pandemic.

Credit: Daily Mirror

Before Covid-19, producing a new vaccine took an average of ten years. VDEC is the United Kingdom's contribution to the worldwide 100 Days Mission, which was initiated in 2021 during the United Kingdom's G7 presidency to deploy an effective vaccine within 100 days of discovering a new pandemic danger.

Credit: Daily Mirror

According to Dr Bassam Hallis, the labs' deputy director, this is the only facility with the same capacity and competence based on a single site. "The key thing for preparedness is how much we are doing today in peacetime," he adds. "The idea is to have prototype vaccine capabilities ready so that we can respond more quickly."

"This new centre cements the UK's global leadership in pandemic preparedness, vaccine development, and scientific discovery," said Health Secretary Steve Barclay. Hundreds of the world's top scientists are already at the centre developing vaccinations against future global health risks to defend the UK and save lives worldwide."

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