World's most deadly viruses to be held at new lab in Surrey
Cutting-edge laboratories to hold and study the world's most deadly diseases are to be built in Surrey.
Fatal and incurable viruses will be researched at a new facility in Weybridge to help prevent future pandemics and also to prepare for a potential terror attack with a biological weapon.
The new National Biosecurity Centre will have the highest classification of lab biosecurity to analyse the most dangerous diseases, known as biosafety level four pathogens, which include Ebola.
This upgrade in biosecurity at Weybridge puts it on equivalent footing to the UK Healthy Security Agency (UKHSA) base at Porton Down, but on a much bigger scale, as it will test and study infected farm animals, not just rodents.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Monday announced £1 billion of taxpayer money to fund the centre, as part of a £2.8 billion overhaul of the Government's marquee animal disease site.
The level four labs will allow staff to safely handle deadly diseases by working in self-contained suits with a dedicated air supply, air locks upon entry and exit, negative air pressure, airtight facilities, and chemical disinfection showers.
Scientists will use the new facilities, due to open in 2033, to prevent outbreaks of disease.
This includes known pathogens, but also as yet unknown future outbreaks such as 'Disease X', a hypothetical pathogen that will cause the next pandemic, officials say.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed told The Telegraph: 'Covid happened once and it can happen again, so we need to invest in the world-class facilities we need to keep not just the economy safe, but the people in this country safe.
'This will be one of only five or six facilities in the world up to this standard. Somebody described this national biosecurity centre to me as being the MI5 of animal and plant disease.'
It will also allow the centre to lead on anti-bioterrorism work to ensure that diseases of plants or animals are not weaponised against Britain.
The National Biosecurity Centre will work alongside scientists at the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the UKHSA facilities at Porton Down.
This three-pronged network will form the backbone of the tranche of the UK's National Security Strategy against biological agents, both zoonotic and from hostile states.
Around 60 per cent of all diseases are zoonotic and spread to humans via animals.
Mr Reed said: 'In the same way pathogens can be used against humans, they can be used against the plants and animals we depend on for food.
'This site will be part of a network of facilities we need to strengthen national security. This is where bioweapon work will be researched and tackled so that we can recognise it, should it happen, and then have the means to combat it.'
The Weybridge site is the main research centre of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and has been criticised for being in poor condition.
Scientists at these labs lead the response to bird flu, foot-and-mouth disease, and bluetongue. It is also where swabs from the recent rabies fatality were tested.
Mr Reed added: 'The money is so desperately needed. You can see just from looking around that these are very old facilities – some remind me of my old science lab at school.
'It shouldn't look like that, it should be a world-class facility. It has world-class people working in it, but the buildings and the tools are not up to the standard they need to be. The previous Government let them become close to obsolete.
'This investment is desperately needed now to protect food production, farming and the economy as well as human beings.'
New capabilities
A 2022 National Audit Office report found the site to be in shoddy shape, with it having the highest possible risk of failure possible, and warned it would be unable to cope with a serious outbreak.
Dr Jenny Stewart, APHA Senior Science Director, told The Telegraph: 'The new centre will add some new capabilities that will let us deal with diseases that we can't currently deal with on this site, and allow us to do research.
'That will mean that we're ready for the next thing that comes. We have a thing called 'Pathogen X', or 'Disease X', and at this site we can be ready for whatever that might be.
'The step change is that we're going to have a higher level of containment on the site that lets us deal with more dangerous diseases than we currently manage on this site.
'We keep saying we are a Reliant Robin, and we are getting a spacecraft.'
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Get some earplugs – and never remove wax at home: 16 ways to protect your hearing, chosen by audiologists
Hearing loss can make life difficult and lead to social isolation. But with extremely loud devices in our pockets, and earbuds in near-constant use, we are at more risk than ever. How can you take care of your ears to avoid problems? 'People tend to think it's a bit of fun if someone mishears,' says Kevin Munro, a professor of audiology and director of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness at the University of Manchester. From a young age it became apparent that Munro could not hear in his right ear, and in recent years he has experienced hearing loss in his left ear and started wearing a hearing aid – 'so I have skin in the game', he says. 'Most of us don't have hearing loss when we are young, but we all need to understand the importance of being able to communicate well and not have hearing difficulty. I think that could get rid of some of the stigma that is associated with hearing loss.' Hearing loss affects 42% of people over the age of 50, increasing to 71% of people over 70, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 'For the majority of people, it is a gradual change over their lifetime,' says Munro. 'What happens is they'll get to the stage where they think everyone is mumbling. So they're blaming everyone else. And then the people they live with say, 'Why have you got the television so loud? And why am I always having to repeat myself?' That's the time to sit up and take notice, because it is affecting all the people you love and spend time with.' One billion young people are at risk from avoidable hearing loss, says Dr Siobhán Brennan, Munro's colleague at the University of Manchester, a lead clinical scientist at Sheffield teaching hospitals and chair of the British Society of Audiology. This is because 'devices are so much better than they used to be in terms of the quality of the sound', she says. 'Back in the 1980s, when we had cassette players, there was a limit to how much you would turn up the volume, because it would be distorted and horrible. These days you can go louder and louder, and the quality is great. So we are finding an increase worldwide in noise-induced hearing loss. 'When I started my career,' says Munro, 'we knew one of the biggest risk factors for hearing loss was damage from noise – but that was usually occupational noise, when there were lots of factories in heavy industry. The concern nowadays is recreational noise and young people listening to music on headphones.' 'Loud noise is one of the most predominant causes of hearing loss in young people,' says Renee Almeida, the adult audiology clinical lead at Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust in London. All of us need to take care when exposed to sounds over 85 decibels (dB): for reference, a lawnmower is 90-95 dB; a concert or club around 110-120 dB. 'The louder it gets, the less time you have to be exposed for to ensure damage.' So it's best to avoid loud noise altogether. This might mean not standing next to the speakers at gigs. 'Everyone has left a concert with some ringing in the ears for a few days,' says Almeida. This, she explains, is because 'the stapedius muscle in the inner ear contracts in order to protect the cochlea – the part of the inner ear essential for hearing. The muscle ends up in spasm, which is why we end up with temporary tinnitus.' When Brennan – who previously trained as a sound engineer – goes to see live music, she always wears earplugs: 'It is important that ear protection fits correctly. They come in different sizes, and you can get custom-made earplugs.' Munro recommends musician's earplugs, which he used himself at a recent Bruce Springsteen gig. 'The ones that have been designed for musicians have a filter in them and it just turns everything down, like lowering the volume on your television a little bit without distorting it.' 'The problem is that everybody has these really loud gadgets in their pockets and the world is a noisy place,' says Dr Jay Jindal, an audiologist and the owner of Planet Audiology, which has clinics in London, Surrey and Kent. 'You could be sensible about how loud it is in your ear in a quiet environment, but as soon as you go into a noisy environment, you inevitably put the volume high without realising that it could be too high for your ears. I spend my life telling people the 50/50 rule – which means that you listen to 50% of the volume on your headphones for 50 minutes, and that seems to be a safe limit for most things.' The World Health Organization (WHO) advises 60% for 60 minutes. 'One of the things that we really notice in audiology,' says Brennan, 'is that people are unaware of the hearing loss they may have – and are missing things without realising. It takes people on average about 10 years between developing hearing difficulties and seeking help.' There are lots of places to take a hearing test, Brennan says, such as the WHO app or the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) site. 'There are three-minute tests that you can do. You don't need a soundproof room; you can do it at home using your own device. They will say either everything's fine, or there may be evidence here of a hearing loss.' That's when you should see a doctor for a more thorough investigation. 'If you went to bed all right, and you wake up and one ear is completely deaf or there is severe hearing loss, you should go to your GP or to a hospital,' says Munro. 'If there is inflammation in your inner ear, then getting steroids into your body as soon as you can is the best way of trying to reduce that.' Otherwise, there is a risk of permanent damage. 'Some people have ear infections more frequently than others,' says Brennan. 'If you are getting them repeatedly, there could be an underlying reason. Go along to your GP, who may refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist.' 'Taking good care of the ears is not using cotton buds,' says Almeida. 'Leave the ears to maintain their natural oil.' This can help avoid ear infections, 'because dry skin can easily break, and even a fingernail can cause irritation and infection.' Almeida advocates drying the ears after a shower or swim, 'when the ears are a bit wet, and nobody really likes that sensation – so get a piece of toilet paper or muslin on your little finger and give it a good wipe.' Only go as far in as the finger can go. It is normal for it to come out a bit yellow, she says. 'Beyond that, leave it for nature.' 'Wax in itself is not a bad thing,' says Brennan. 'It is a protective mechanism. It keeps the ears healthy, generally speaking, and it does migrate out by itself. It is one of those phenomena that has a bad reputation, because sometimes it gets stuck.' 'Having wax in the ear doesn't mean that your ear is unhealthy or unhygienic,' adds Jindal. 'Research suggests that wax has an enzyme which can kill bacteria and viruses going into the ear, and it moisturises the skin as well. So wax is actually a more helpful thing than not.' 'Syringing … can cause a lot of problems in the ears,' says Jindal. Almeida explains: 'You can apply too much pressure or too little pressure, hoping that the water is going to pass the wax and flush it out, so it is hit and miss. That's why it is dangerous, because you might have an infection and you don't know about it until it is too late, or you can cause a perforation of the eardrum with the pressure. Microsuction is much more gentle and guided; you can stop at any time.' Brennan notes that there is availability from the NHS for wax removal: 'There are some audiology or ear, nose and throat departments that will offer it. And there are still some GP surgeries that offer it. However, it is certainly not as widespread as it used to be.' Outside the NHS, there is now not much regulation around who can carry out wax removal, so it is worth asking your GP for advice on where to get it done, the experts say. 'Having a hearing aid, you are more likely to be in tune with what is going on in the world,' says Almeida. Hearing aids that are available on the NHS are 'amazing', she says – 'I am very proud to say that.' The technology has improved a great deal, with even AI and 'invisible' models on the market now – although not on the NHS. They are a lot less prone to problems like whistling, says Brennan. Munro says: 'Remember, you need good hearing to be able to communicate well, and hearing aids can address this. If you don't hear well, you're not able to stay socially connected to others. And if you're not socially connected and you can't have good-quality social interactions, this leads to isolation: you get anxious, you get withdrawn, you can be depressed, and that is not good for your health at all. For healthy ageing, you want to be able to remain socially connected.' If your ear feels blocked, olive oil-based ear drops are an option. 'For some people, they work well,' Brennan says. 'But use them in moderation and according to what it says on the packet. Speaking to a GP is a good start because if your ear feels blocked, it may not be wax; it could be an infection, which you're going to want to approach in a different way.' There are times when oil does more harm than good, says Jindal. 'Oil can close the pores of the skin, so the skin stops breathing, and if you already have an existing problem with the skin, then it doesn't go in your favour.' 'Swimming in a pool is OK for most people,' says Jindal. 'If they have ear-related issues, they will benefit from wearing earplugs. There are some over-the-counter earplugs, which are quite cheap. Or they can go to their nearest audiologist and get customised swim plugs made.' For people prone to ear problems, swimming in open water can be more problematic than doing pool lengths, because 'the water is more contaminated rather than regulated'. 'Tinnitus is ringing or buzzing,' says Almeida. 'It is described as a perception of sound, when no external sound is around. Very rarely, it can be caused by changes in blood flow or muscle contractions, but it is ultimately generated by the brain's auditory system. Hearing loss and tinnitus go hand in hand because by lacking hearing, the brain then notices the tinnitus.' It can be related to problems with the jaw, teeth or tense muscles around the neck, Almeida adds. 'The treatment options depend on what we find. If there is a hearing loss, hearing aids are always going to be the first port of call.' A visit to the dentist might also be an idea. Dehydration may be a factor: 'People say, 'When I wake up, the tinnitus is very loud, and the moment I have a glass of water, it's fine.' The ears are filled with liquid, and the whole body dehydrates at nighttime.' Brennan adds that there's some evidence to suggest cognitive behavioural therapy is effective for reducing the impact of tinnitus. 'Your ear controls your hearing and your balance,' says Munro. 'So if something goes wrong with your ear, it might also affect your balance. As we get older, the balance organ in our ear will not work as well as it used to. Your inner ear, where your cochlea is for your hearing and your semicircular canals for your balance, relies on a really good blood supply – but it is where the blood vessels are the smallest in the body, which is why people might end up with a vestibular problem.' If your ears feel blocked or painful when on an aeroplane, 'swallowing something helps, because that creates positive pressure inside the ear', says Jindal. 'Sipping a glass of water or juice, or sucking a sweet, may be helpful. There is a special balloon you can blow up with your nose rather than your mouth, which seems to help. And blowing the nose in general is a good thing.' This article was amended on 25 June 2025 to add the information that 'invisible' and AI-enabled hearing aids are not yet available on the NHS. Also, ear syringing is not banned in the UK as stated in an earlier version, but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence does not recommend it.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
People having IVF should get time off work for appointments, say UK campaigners
People undergoing fertility treatment should have the legal right to take time off for their appointments, according to research that finds over a third have considered leaving their job due to the physical and emotional strain. The campaign group Fertility Matters At Work is calling for IVF to be recategorised as a medical procedure, rather than an elective treatment equivalent to cosmetic surgery, in guidance for employers under the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) code of practice. This would mean employers are no longer able to refuse time off for appointments, and would help tackle the stigma and lack of support that exists in many workplaces, the group says. Fertility Matters at Work has published a report based on a survey of more than 1,000 UK-based employees who have undergone fertility treatment. It found that nearly all (99%) had experienced it as a major life event that affected their mental wellbeing, while 87% reported anxiety or depression directly related to it, and 38% had left or considered leaving their job. One employee quoted in the report said that fertility treatment felt like 'a full-time job', including phone calls, appointments, chasing results, taking injections and medication several times a day and dealing with the emotional and physical toll. Another said they were 'massively underperforming', while a teacher had to go on sick leave for the duration of their treatment due to their job's lack of flexibility. More than two-thirds (68%) of the respondents felt it had negatively affected their career trajectory, while nearly a quarter (24%) believed it limited their promotion prospects. More than three-quarters (77%) had taken time off work due to treatments, in many cases because they felt unwell or because they were hiding their treatment. Nearly two-thirds (61%) feared bringing it up at work due to stigma and fear of repercussions, and a similar proportion (63%) were unaware of a workplace fertility policy. Just 35% felt their line manager had been supportive. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Fertility Matters at Work would like more employers to implement fertility policies alongside line manager training, in reflection of the fact that fertility challenges now affect one in six people of working age worldwide, while in the UK 52,500 people underwent IVF in 2022. Becky Kearns, a co-founder of Fertility Matters at Work, said: 'This is not just a private issue – it's a workforce crisis hiding in plain sight. We're facing a global fertility decline but failing to support those actively trying to start a family. It's time for employers and policymakers to step up.' Kearns co-founded Fertility Matters at Work after her own experience of undergoing IVF as an HR professional, when she was diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). 'In total, I went through five cycles of IVF, including a miscarriage, before going down the route of egg donation to have my three girls. Prior to going through my own experience, as an HR professional I had no idea what fertility treatment entailed and wouldn't have had a clue as to how to support someone. My experience took significant toll on my mental health and impacted my career,' she said. Alice MacDonald, the Labour MP for Norwich North, said the research 'shines a spotlight on the glaring gaps in employment rights and workplace practice', which she has also raised several times in parliament and discussed with the minister for employment rights. 'It is also frankly astonishing that, under the Equality Act code of practice, fertility treatment is compared to cosmetic dental surgery, meaning that employers often refuse time off for fertility appointments. Fertility treatment should be treated as a medical appointment,' she said.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Times letters: Tying hospital funds to patient satisfaction
Write to letters@ Sir, There is a big difference between motivation and financial incentives ('Hospitals' funds tied to patient satisfaction', news, Jun 28). Most health and other professionals are primarily motivated by wanting to make a difference in the world and have an impact in their chosen field. They are not indifferent to money, but are far more likely to be demotivated by lack of money than motivated by financial rewards. Improved technology and better systems are vital, but the NHS is essentially a people-based service. The new NHS plan will only succeed if the people who have to implement it are personally committed to doing so — providing the extra discretionary effort and passion that money can't buy. The NHS plan of 2000 was similarly far-reaching: it enjoyed enormous support from many NHS professionals and organisations and kickstarted the major improvements of the following CrispChief executive of NHS England and permanent secretary of the Department of Health 2000-06 Sir, It's hard to see how cutting the income of a poorly performing NHS trust will result in its treating its unfortunate patients better: the reverse is far more likely. A fairer and more intelligent policy would be to replace the managers of badly run trusts with others who have a track record of serving the public ParlourLincoln Sir, Too often elaborate and expensive plans are made without any patient involvement. If the ten-year NHS plan is to be successful then patient representation on every single 'change' project should be encouraged. The patients' voice needs to be clear and loud, so as to have a real impact on future Mabs ChowdhuryConsultant dermatologist, Cardiff Sir, To achieve success during the 20-plus years that I was a clinical director in an NHS commissioning group, I spent my life explaining to the non-clinical managers why their initial ideas might not work for clinicians. Labour's suggestion will only work if the managers are willing clinicians who know the system; to think otherwise is folly. One need only look at what happened when the pandemic struck, and managers abandoned ship to the doctors and nurses, to realise Shelley HaylesOxford Sir, You report that patients will decide how much hospitals are paid by rating their treatment and that an improved NHS app will give patients more choice over who treats them and where. On the first issue there has never been a problem with staff motivation but there has been a perennial one with facilities provided (namely, operating theatres, beds and equipment) — which is hardly the responsibility of those providing the care. On the second issue there have been many studies to show that patients prefer local treatment, where any complications can be dealt with promptly by the same team and overall travel kept to a minimum. These proposals will be ineffective and wasteful. Instead we need to eliminate inefficiency and provide adequate facilities for a professional workforce that should be trusted and not treated like difficult ThomasRet'd consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Itchen Stoke, Hants Sir, I enjoyed Ben Macintyre's account of Anglo-Iranian relations ('Iranian distrust of the British runs deep', Jun 28) but I fear he is too accepting of some of the propagandist claims regularly made by the Islamic Republic. He omits to mention British support for the Constitutional Revolution between 1905 and 1909, particularly the role played by the extraordinary Philo-Persian Cambridge scholar and activist Edward Browne. He might also have recalled Lord Curzon's intense interest in the country. He cites British support for Reza Khan in 1921, but after the chaos of the previous ten years many Iranians welcomed the stability he brought. Macintyre claims that Mohammad Mosaddegh was 'left-leaning'. He was certainly reformist and nationalist, but he came from an old Qajar family and had been a high functionary in the last days of the dynasty, suggesting paternalism rather than socialism. We and the Americans were certainly involved in his overthrow. But that would not have happened if substantial elements in the army, the religious establishment and the population at large had not supported the Shah. Finally, the present regime is well aware of the decline in our international influence. They shout loudly about us not because they believe we are really capable of damaging them but because it is helpful to them in rallying nationalist John JenkinsFormer British ambassador to Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia; Matfield, Kent Sir, Ben Macintyre's article brought back memories from the late 1960s, when an Iranian student friend told me that in Iran, should someone trip over a stone, you could be sure that an Englishman had put it AlbrightRottingdean, Brighton & Hove Sir, As a teacher I found that gaining the trust and support of parents whose children who were a threat to good order in school was enough to resolve the problem. Jenni Russell's comment piece ('Fear of knives is destroying the social order' Jun 28) reminds us that the more young men carry knives, the more others feel forced to do so. When teenagers appear in court charged with knife crimes their parents are not obliged to attend. These are the people who have brought these young people into the world and have engaged with the responsibility of bringing them up. Owners of dangerous dogs can appear in court; why not the parents of dangerous teenagers? Then courts could demand their co-operation and InsonEast Mersea, Essex Sir, I was much impressed by Jenni Russell's views on the disturbance of social order by petty crimes. Perhaps two days in supervised stocks might provide an effective solution; why waste money on incarceration when the low-cost public shame and indignity of this suffered by offenders might well make them mend their ways within a very short time?Peter HardymentCobham, Surrey Parliament's lingo Sir, The proposed 'inclusive' makeover to parliament's 'outdated' language must be resisted ('Division bell rings for 'confusing' parliamentary terms', news, Jun 28). Such an unnecessary change is likely to be irreversible, and is yet another damning example of the Labour government's contempt for tradition and also its utmost uninterest in maintaining high standards of literacy for the future. The perverse logic underpinning this decision will no doubt have deleterious ripple effects in the education sector further down the line. The literary canon will not be taught in schools on the grounds that the 'confusing' language in these texts 'alienates' students; resultant successive generations of university students will be less willing and able to read; and the longer-term ability for students and academics to engage critically with literature — let alone write about it elegantly — will decline and fall. Edward Gibbon will be turning in his Edward HowellOxford Two-tier justice Sir, Lord Hermer, the attorney-general, describes the claim that there exists a two-tier justice system in this country as 'offensive' (Jun 28). But there is indeed a two-tier system, as justice is available only to those eligible for legal aid and those to whom the cost of it all is immaterial. The great majority of the population comes into neither category. Lawyers are fond of repeating that justice delayed is justice denied: it is also the case that justice too-expensive-to-be-afforded is also justice Davies-HumphreysChester Sir, Tim Davie's advice to employees to avoid conflict with friends and family over Gaza is no doubt well intentioned ('BBC staff told not to fight with family and friends over Gaza coverage', Jun 26). Given the BBC's Glastonbury coverage of Bobby Vylan's chant of 'death to the IDF', why should employees feel unable to defend their employer? If they are uncomfortable doing so, should they not seek to change the organisation from within — or alternatively consider whether they should change their employer?Andrew LeslauHenley-on-Thames, Oxon Sir, If, as reported (Jun 27), disability benefit changes will now apply only to new claimants, it is questionable whether the same criteria should not have been applied to the imposition of VAT on school fees, thereby preventing the enforced displacement of thousands of WellingsHalesowen, W Midlands Sir, Further to your report ('Give 65-year-olds MoT 'to keep them living at home' '), as a 67-year-old who plays hockey and cricket at club and international age group level, erects the marquees for the village fête, cleans the local church using an extendable ladder and goes mountain biking on Salisbury Plain, am I allowed to question the age criteria of the proposed care home assessment?Mark BanhamBeechingstoke, Wilts Sir, Regarding people dining alone being given a bad table (Notebook), the trick is, when entering, to ask for a table for two and order a glass of wine right away, 'While I wait for my friend'. When it comes, smile apologetically, pick up your phone and say you've just learnt that your friend can't make it and you'll be eating alone. You'll never be asked to JohnstoneLondon NW1 Sir, Dafydd Thomas's letter (Jun 28) reminded me of a dinner party in Nashville at which I was the only one of the 12 guests who did not carry a gun. The hostess said that she advised her children when returning home late to shout up 'It's only me, Mother'. Otherwise, she said, 'I'll shoot 'em'.Averil MansfieldLondon W2 Sir, Your editorial (Jun 28) accuses the M&S Red Diamond Strawberry and Creme sandwich of 'desecrating' the legacy of the 4th Earl of Sandwich, thus perpetuating the legend that the Earl created the delicacy. The Romans, among others, might contest that claim. The first Earl of Sandwich, however, whose scorched remains, recognisable only by his clothing and medals, were washed ashore after his ship was set on fire at the Battle of Solebay in 1672, could lay claim to the dubious honour of being history's first example of a 'toasted' CooteErith, Kent Write to letters@
