Russia's State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology study a lot of infectious diseases has exploded

News24xx.com -  Russia's State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology, also known as Vector, is a place where scientists study a lot of infectious diseases, many deadly.

They have to store samples on location to do that. Which is terrifying because there was a small explosion there this week.

According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, there was an explosion at the facility on Monday, resulting in glass throughout the building being blown out, and one employee suffering third-degree burns. 

State-run news agency TASS quotes Koltsovo city head administrator Nikolai Krasnikov saying the blast was not an attack. He says it occurred during scheduled repair work and appears to be a gas explosion. The glass was blown out and about 30 square metres of the building caught fire, but it was brought under control.

That's horrifying, because Vector is one of only two places in the world where living smallpox virus samples are officially stored for research. Not just that, the place also houses other deadly pathogens, including the Ebola virus and anthrax spores.

Krasnikov insists none of biohazardous materials were stored in the vicinity of the blast and fire, so the population is safe. The building itself wasn't too damaged either, indeed it seems the burned employee received the worst of things. It did however reportedly warrant the Emergencies Ministry sending 13 fire trucks and 38 firefighters just in case.

The Vector facility has been around since 1975, and covers dozens of acres. At the very least, that means the odds are pretty good that none of the viruses were in the vicinity of the explosion. After all, they'd have to be stored about right next door at least to be in danger.

It's still a bad look for the Russian government though. Just recently they faced major global backlash and outrage after a mysterious explosion killed at least five people back in August. At the time, it was described as an accident during a Ministry of Defense test of a rocket liquid propulsion system. However, the victims had been exposed to radioactive materials, something the doctors treating them weren't told about. US intelligence later speculated it may have been the Russian military's attempts to cover up a botched recovery of a nuclear-powered missile.

Though it seems very dangerous for places like this to exist, the Vector facility has a purpose. For instance, it's credited with developing an Ebola vaccine this year. Its US counterpart is the Centre for Disease Control, which also stores smallpox samples. Both facilities have in the past faced questions about how safe the facilities and their processes are.

 

 

 

 

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