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Coronavirus: CSIRO scientists to test the characteristics of the DEADLY virus for vaccines
Australian researchers are set to test the deadly coronavirus for cutting out potential vaccines against it.
Australian researchers have been tasked with painting a clear picture of the deadly new coronavirus, to pave the way for testing potential vaccines. Federal science agency - CSIRO has been asked by a global group that aims to derail epidemics to help them determine the key characteristics of the virus. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) wants to know how long the virus takes to develop and replicate, how it impacts the respiratory system and how it is transmitted. The CSIRO will conduct their research at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory, a high-containment facility in Victoria's Geelong.
It is the only physical containment laboratory of its kind in Australia and one of just five in the world. Once the scientists know more about the virus, which has killed more than 200 people in China where it surfaced, they can begin testing vaccines developed by a CEPI-led consortium. The Organisation, which includes both CSIRO and the University of Queensland, was established in hopes of speeding up the time taken to develop potential vaccines from years to weeks.
CSIRO chief executive Dr. Larry Marshall says the organisation is uniquely placed to help fight the virus, given its capabilities in animal and human health, genetics, data, and machine learning. The development comes two days after researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne became the first scientists to recreate the virus outside China. The lab-grown virus, which was developed from the first patient diagnosed in Australia, will help with accurately diagnosing the disease around the world. The CSIRO says it is collaborating both with the Peter Doherty Institute and the University of Queensland, where trials have begun to develop a vaccine. The coronavirus death toll has risen to 204 and the World Health Organisation has declared the disease a public health emergency. The total number of people infected in Australia rose to nine after two new cases were confirmed on Thursday evening.
