Your Comment article was a welcome admission that the safety measures taken when researching potentially dangerous viruses can, very occasionally, be inadequate (M. Ott et al. Nature 646, 31–34; 2025). The authors propose that scientists from relevant fields should come together to produce international guidelines that bolster the management of this work. But the proposal omits a key stakeholder: the public.
Nature 647, 40 (2025)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03559-7
Competing Interests J.E. is director-general of the European Research Infrastructure on Highly Pathogenic Agents, a non-profit NGO that federates leading European BSL3 and BSL4 laboratories. Political and public support for pathogen research could impact ERINHA’s members’ capacity to contribute to pandemic preparedness. J.E. is on secondment from INSERM, which would potentially also be affected by any changes in support for work in BSL3 and BSL4 laboratories.
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