What is the CCPID

Infectious diseases that occur overseas are not something we can afford to ignore. Smallpox was brought back to Japan by a group of envoys in 735 and caused a major epidemic that killed around 30% of the population at the time. Under the National Isolation policy between 1639 and 1854, the number of infectious diseases brought into Japan from overseas decreased. Still, the disease, supposed to be influenza that landed on the artificial island of Dejima, took three years to reach Edo, the capital of Japan. Then, it killed 80,000 people there in a single month. Syphilis, a once endemic disease in the New World, arrived in Japan just 18 years after Columbus and his crew brought it back to Europe, and it became a national disease during the Edo period. Considering the transportation conditions at the time, that was an astonishingly fast speed. The dreaded smallpox was eradicated through vaccination, and syphilis became a disease that could be easily treated with penicillin. Vaccines and antivirals also prevent influenza from becoming serious. All of these are monumental achievements of medical research.

When SARS broke out, Japan was unaffected, and many Japanese people felt that “no matter what happens overseas, Japan will be fine.” However, COVID-19, which is caused by a closely related coronavirus, quickly spread around the world, including Japan, and caused many victims. Not long before that, MERS, a disease similar to SARS, was thought to be an endemic disease of the Middle East; however, many people got infected with and died from it in neighboring South Korea, causing a big commotion.

In recent years, humans have encountered new pathogens much more frequently due to environmental destruction and climate change. Since people and goods are moving around the world at speeds that would have been unimaginable in the past, there is always a risk that an emerging infectious disease that has broken out somewhere in the world could enter Japan without us even knowing. Border measures are ineffective against infectious diseases that have long incubation periods or are transmitted from asymptomatic carriers. Moreover, we cannot stop a highly pathogenic avian influenza or West Nile fever at immigration since migratory birds carry them in.

 Most people probably think that the Ebola virus disease is endemic in Africa. However, the epidemic in West Africa in 2014-2016 spread to European and US countries. The belief that it will never enter Japan is a completely unfounded delusion.
 In addition to Ebola virus disease, there is an urgent need to develop effective therapeutic and preventive measures for diseases such as Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and henipavirus infections, as these diseases have high fatality rates. Naturally, it is essential to have an experimental facility with the highest safety features to advance research on these pathogens, and that is a biosafety level 4 facility (BSL-4 facility).

There are currently more than 60 BSL-4 facilities in over 20 countries worldwide. In Japan, the only BSL-4 facility is the one at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), which was built about 40 years ago and is only permitted to conduct experimental work that leads to diagnosis and treatment in response to an emergency. However, just as the development of smallpox vaccines, penicillin, and COVID-19 vaccines has saved many lives, it is extremely important to advance basic medical research on BSL-4 pathogens. A BSL-4 research facility with cutting-edge equipment has been needed in Japan to protect the Japanese people and contribute to the world.

In this context, Nagasaki University sent out a message from the President in 2010 announcing that it would begin considering establishing a BSL-4 facility, and the Ministerial Meeting of the Government decided to provide support in 2016. Accordingly, the research institution that would become the forerunner to the National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CCPID) was established, and the BSL-4 facility was constructed in July 2021. In April 2022, CCPID was reborn as the University Research Institute and certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a Joint Usage/Research Center for related researchers nationwide. Currently, we are preparing for full-scale operation using BSL-4 pathogens by verifying the functions and safety of the facility and providing the necessary training.

At this center, we will promote infectious disease research using BSL-4 facilities through collaboration between researchers from Nagasaki University and other institutions across Japan. At the same time, we will also train researchers who can safely handle BSL-4 pathogens and experts in biosafety management. Nagasaki has contributed to the advancement of medicine as the birthplace of Western medicine. Smallpox vaccination also spread from Nagasaki to the rest of Japan, saving many lives. Now, Nagasaki is aiming to contribute to medical research across Japan and around the world.
To achieve this, I believe that the most important thing is to operate the BSL-4 facility absolutely safely, build a relationship of trust with the people in the community, and have them watch over our research activities with peace of mind. I sincerely ask for your understanding, cooperation, and support.

April 2024

Hiroyuki Moriuchi, MD, PhD
Dean, the National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases(CCPID), Nagasaki University