Editorial

15:09 JST, February 5, 2025

As the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, making preparations for infectious diseases is fundamental to national crisis management. Precautions must be taken to be able to deal with any kind of pathogen.

The government has designated an experimental facility newly built by Nagasaki University as a biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) facility, which means it is able to handle pathogens such as the highly lethal Ebola virus.

There is a BSL-4 facility at the Murayama branch of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in Musashi-Murayama, Tokyo. But, based on requests from nearby residents, its relocation outside the city is being considered. It is hoped that a candidate site will be decided as soon as possible and a two-facility system will........

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