Shenzhen-based China National GeneBank (CNGB) has officially established a strategic partnership with the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) to promote the international sharing of gene data on viruses associated with respiratory infectious diseases yesterday.
China National GeneBank Database (CNGBdb), a unified platform for biological big data sharing and application service, is the first Chinese platform to be authorized by GISAID, according to information released by CNGB.
The collaboration allows researchers in China to access influenza virus data with novel analysis tools and also marks an important milestone for the contributions made by Chinese research institutes to the global sharing of influenza virus data.
GNGBdb will act as a fast channel for the publication of domestic scientific and technological research on the basis of open data sharing and respect for all rights and interests upheld by GISAID, according to CNGB.
COVID-19, which has spread across the globe and killed more than 6,000 people, is now officially recognized by the World Health Organization as a pandemic.
Information suggests that sharing virus data associated with respiratory infectious diseases globally is essential to protecting human health, especially amid a virus outbreak. Sharing this information faster can thus provide a better basis for epidemic risk evaluation and drafting preventative measures.
Founded in 2008, GISAID is said to be the world’s biggest influenza virus data platform, with sources provided by 14,000 researchers and 1,500 institutions from around the world.
Approved by the Chinese Government in 2011, CNGB, China’s first national integrated gene bank operated by BGI-Research, has been playing a key role in the fight against COVID-19 in Guangdong Province.
As one in a network of emergency COVID-19 testing laboratories established by BGI throughout the country, Shenzhen Dapeng Huo-Yan (Piercing Eyes) Lab was put into service Feb. 15 and has provided over 80,000 virus tests to Shenzhen and surrounding cities. The lab has an output capacity of up to 10,000 sample tests per day, said CNGB.