China's first laboratory for studies on highly contagious and fatal diseases was inaugurated in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei province Saturday, enabling scientists to research the live Ebola virus at home.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Chinese Academy of Sciences held a completion ceremony for the National Biosafety Laboratory-the country's first bio-safety level 4 laboratory, also known as a P4 laboratory.

The facility, which has the highest-level biosafety precautions on earth, is an essential platform for research and development against highly contagious and infectious diseases such as Ebola.

“The laboratory filled the domestic void, providing conditions for research on the Ebola virus, and brought the frontier of fighting the virus from Africa to domestic laboratories,” said Li Bin, minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.