China is experimenting on mutant Covid strains again – should we be worried?

Chinese scientists are once again experimenting on mutant coronavirus strains.

Last month, a group of virologists from Beijing cloned and mutated a Covid-like virus found many years ago in a pangolin and used it to infect ‘humanised’ mice.

All eight mice infected with the GX_P2V virus went on to die, sparking doom-laden headlines around the world.

The purpose of the research, the scientists said, was to determine the danger posed to humans by new Covid viruses and provide data for the development of a universal vaccine – one that is capable of protecting against all coronaviruses.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the controversy surrounding the origins of Covid-19, the study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, didn’t land well.

Professor Francois Balloux, the director of the UCL Genetics Institute, derided it as “scientifically totally pointless”.

“I can see nothing of vague interest that could be learned from force-infecting a weird breed of humanized mice with a random virus,” he wrote on X. “Conversely, I could see how such stuff might go wrong…”

But despite the controversy and potential risks, it is not just Chinese scientists who are poking and prodding at coronavirus strains in a bid to better understand them.

With the worst days of the pandemic behind us, there has been a boom in research dedicated to genetically modifying Covid variants, cloning related pathogens, virus-hunting, and more.

Although some of it is happening in the east, much of the work is taking place in the UK, led by some of the biggest names in virology, as well as Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and the US.

The scientists involved insist there is little to fear and much to gain.

They say the experiments, conducted in safe, high-security laboratories, are essential for a better understanding of Sars-CoV-2 and the wider coronavirus family to which it belongs.

‘Reverse genetics’

A body called the G2P2-UK Consortium is leading this research in the UK.

Funded by the British taxpayer and run out of Imperial College in London, it was established with the aim of examining how current and emerging Covid variants are adapting in humans, and the means by which they come to take over in a population.

It also seeks to determine the role that different mutations – random changes in the genetic sequence of a virus – have on a variant’s characteristics, in terms of its lethality, transmissibility, and ability to escape vaccine-induced immunity.

“To understand why different variants of concern behave differently, we need to identify which mutations in the genome confer these properties,” said Professor Wendy Barclay, head of the G2P2 Consortium.

This process typically begins with the emergence of a new Covid variant that has acquired an array of mutations.

Those mutations which haven’t been seen before will take centre stage in the experiments that follow. Their genetic coding will be removed from the Covid strain under investigation and inserted into either the original Wuhan virus that emerged in late 2019 or, sometimes, another variant of concern.

This process – called ‘reverse genetics’ – changes the proteins of the virus that are responsible for its ability to, say, infect and replicate within human nasal cells, or its ability to dodge antibodies and other human defence mechanisms.

This modified virus will then be exposed to human cells grown in the lab or in hamsters to see whether such functions are heightened or diminished.

By repeatedly ‘mixing and matching’ different mutations through these experiments, scientists “can narrow down” which mutations are driving the variant’s troublesome characteristics, said Professor Stuart Neil, a virologist at King’s College London.

“You can break it down to a single point mutation or a group of mutations.”

Prof Barclay said the work has been vital in answering many of the unknown questions that had surrounded Sars-CoV-2 during the acute phase of the pandemic.

“For example, the original Covid virus replicates less efficiently in human nasal cells in the laboratory than Omicron and its sub-variants,” she said. “Why is that? Which ‘bits’ of the virus are responsible for this property?

“We can now say that these differences are due to the spike protein and in future we can look out for mutations that can affect this property and warn public health officials if needed.”

At first glance, the work appears to venture into the sort of genetic territory that enhances the characteristics of Sars-CoV-2 – a feature of so-called “gain-of-function” research.

Yet there’s a crucial difference: the scientists at the consortium aren’t adding any mutations to the virus that it hasn’t already learnt in the wild.

“We limit our studies to naturally occurring mutations that are already in the human population, we are not giving the virus any function it didn’t already have,” said Prof Barclay.

This differs from gain of function experiments which, for example, might fuse together the worst properties of two different viruses and see what risk this ‘chimera’ pathogen poses to humans.

Although the G2P2-UK’ Consortium isn’t conducting research of this high-risk nature, and nor are the Chinese virologists in Beijing, it makes sure to follow the strictest of safety protocols when running its own ‘mixing and matching’ experiments.

All projects begin with a written risk assessment that requires sign-off from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the UK’s workplace safety regulator. If the research is deemed too dangerous, authorisation won’t be granted.

Experiments involving the Covid virus and its variants are meanwhile performed in a ‘Containment Level 3’ laboratory – this is an airtight, gas-tight facility that uses specialised airflow design to prevent the escape of hazardous pathogens.

It’s one tier down from the top level of lab biosafety, CL4, in which the world’s deadliest diseases – from ebola to smallpox – are handled.

These facilities and their staff, who are specifically trained to operate in a CL3 lab, are audited at least once a year by the HSE – though a Telegraph investigation revealed earlier this year that recorded lab leaks and accidents have risen by 50 per cent in Britain since Covid emerged.

It’s understood that safety guidelines for laboratory experiments on the Covid-19 virus – including the swapping of mutations between variants – are being reviewed by HSE.

Regulations for sampling, testing and analysing Sars-CoV-2 were quickly implemented at the start of the pandemic but have never been updated.

Scientific understanding of “what makes the virus tick” has improved drastically since 2020, said one expert involved in the review, raising questions of whether laboratory protocols for the pathogen need to be strengthened – or relaxed.

A HSE spokesperson said: “As scientific knowledge on coronaviruses has now significantly improved, we’d like to know whether further risk assessment advice for genetically modifying coronaviruses would benefit the scientific community. This scoping exercise is ongoing.”

Risks, of course, will always persist in this line of work – especially when dealing with the unpredictability of constantly evolving viruses.

Yet it’s worth the reward of furthering our scientific understanding and, with it, improving humanity’s preparedness against future biological threats, argues Dr Benjamin Neuman, a virologist at Texas A&M University.

“Preparedness requires a certain amount of bravery, individually for the scientist, and collectively for society,” he said. “But preparedness saves lives.”

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.