A gas explosion and fire has torn through a lab in Russia that contains highly infectious diseases.
A cylinder exploded in the facility that researches Ebola and HIV – it is also one of just two places on the planet that is known to house smallpox. The explosion was followed by a fire on the fifth floor of the State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology that was later extinguished. One worker was injured in the explosion which blew out the glass in the building, the centre said yesterday.
Russia insists that the room where the explosion happened did not contain biohazardous substances and apart from the windows no structural damage was caused.
I think you'll find the Crick Institute in London most probably houses smallpox and HIV amongst a whole host of other highly infectious viruses....
One would hope that extreme temperatures from the explosion would denature the viruses anyway?