Century-scale biosafety study links inactivation gaps to outbreaks and deaths
A century-long review of 1,126 lab biosafety incidents (1900–2025) finds outbreaks are mainly driven by failures to inactivate dangerous pathogens, plus leaks and poor decontamination; personnel type and lab setting influence outbreak risk, while deaths are driven by pathogen virulence (notably prions and RG4 pathogens). The authors suggest risk assessment frameworks and targeted training to improve containment.