19.02.2020CSIRO research on coronavirus

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has been engaged by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to undertake critical new research as part of the rapid global response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Undertaken at CSIRO’s secure Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) high-containment facility, the research will help to determine the characteristics of the current virus – a key step in developing a new vaccine.

The research aims to paint a clearer picture of the new coronavirus, including how long it takes to develop and replicate, how it impacts on the respiratory system and how it can be transmitted.

The work builds on CSIRO’s deep expertise in animal and human health, having been at the front line of biosecurity for 100 years and developed the world’s first effective flu treatment; a horse vaccine for the Hendra virus; and identified bats as the original hosts of SARS, another type of coronavirus that spread to humans in 2002-3.