A bio-objects approach to biosecurity: the “mutant flu” controversy as a bio-objectification process

Abstract

The governance of biological emergencies has been an important issue during the last decade. Much policy work has been done on the topic, aiming at covering the necessities associated to bio-preparedness – ie, preparedness for biological threats. In this context, there is a lot to be said and understood by looking at emerging biological entities, such as new viruses or bacteria. Some of the most important international organizations worry about this issue: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), World Health Organization (WHO), or European Union (EU) have specific sections specialized in dealing with this matter. Such concern has been fed by the expert opinion asserting that a big pandemic is imminent. This is based on several developments that have taken place during the last decades: the 80s saw the expansion of Ebola and HIV, and the 90s and 2000s witnessed the appearance of the Creutzfeld-Jacob’s disease, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SRAS), and different types of influenza viruses coming from other species, such as the avian influenza or the H1N1. These outbreaks, together with the Anthrax attacks that took place in the aftermath of 9/11 and the research on genetic engineering of viruses has led to a general state of fear of biological threats. Such events are characterized by a strong interaction between the social and the biological, between populations and viruses. I suggest that conceptualizing viruses as bio-objects will be helpful in our attempt to understand such interaction. The bio-objects framework, which has been developed by the research network “Bio-objects and their Boundaries: Governing Matters at the Intersection of Society, Science and Politics” (1,2) has provided an interesting way of thinking about emerging biological entities. A number of analyses with different biological entities have already been reported in this same journal. MicroRNA’s (3), dried blood spots (4), genetically modified insects (5), transgenic food (6), or HeLa cells (7) serve as examples. Such variety of work shows the versatility of the concept. In an attempt to understand the dynamic processes that give raise and regulate emerging biological entities, the concept provides a theoretical and methodological tool useful to explore new fields related to biology and life sciences. In this article I will claim that the bio-objects framework is a useful tool to connect some biological dimensions of biosecurity with the political and the social. The framework is beneficial when we aim at tracking and following biological entities that are controversial and subject to change. Controversies are common in the area of biosecurity, an area that embraces institutional entities situated in the intersection of science, economy, security, law, society, and politics. It is within this background that viruses need to be understood nowadays: as objects that transgress existing boundaries and classifications while their identity is continually challenged. They are, in that sense, suitable to be understood as bio-objects. I will try to illustrate these ideas using a recent controversy on the consequences of genetic engineering on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) A/H5N1, a virus that appeared in 1997 in Southeast Asia and that has been threatening to overcome the human/animal interface since then. By following research articles, pieces of news and reports, I have carried out an exploratory analysis that intends to understand viruses as immersed in a bio-objectification process.