Containment Level (CL) 3 laboratories and CL2/3 insectaries

A secure suite of high-containment laboratories in Glasgow allows scientists to safely study the world’s most dangerous viruses, including those spread by mosquitoes and ticks. These facilities are essential because vector-borne diseases account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases. Researchers need a highly regulated environment to work with Hazard Group 3 pathogens—viruses that can cause serious human or animal disease—without risking a release into the community. The Centre for Virus Research operates these labs in close coordination with the Health and Safety Executive, ensuring rigorous training and safety protocols. If this work succeeds, it will clarify how viruses interact with their mosquito and tick vectors, and how those interactions drive disease emergence and spread. That understanding could lead directly to practical vector control strategies—for example, new ways to suppress mosquito populations or block virus transmission. The facilities also enable rapid response when new or re-emerging arboviral diseases appear, giving public health authorities a head start in containing outbreaks. This is applied, mission-driven science aimed at reducing the global burden of diseases such as dengue, Zika, and tick-borne encephalitis.