New high-security Laval lab will study dangerous pathogens and the origins of COVID-19

LAVAL -- A new laboratory has opened in Laval to study the origins of COVID-19 and dangerous pathogens, such as the West Nile virus.

The laboratory is considered to be highly secure, classified as a level three containment laboratory, more commonly called NC3. The new facility is located at the Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie (AFSB) centre in the National Scientific Research Institute (INRS), in Laval.

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Air coming in and out of the lab is filtered in order to prevent aerosol particles from escaping.

“To react quickly in times of pandemic, we must work upstream,” said the new facility’s director, Laurent Chatel-Chaix, a specialist in molecular virology.

The new lab should allow researchers to study the behaviour of dangerous pathogens in conditions that emulate the real-world.

Chatel-Chaix says project plans include research on treatments for COVID-19, and why some variants are more contagious than others.

The centre will act in collaboration with other facilities internationally as week as private companies.

-- This report from the Canadian Press was first published on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.