International Debate Erupts Over Research on Potentially Dangerous Bird Flu Strains

Abstract

TWO TEAMS OF SCIENTISTS HAVE identified genetic mutations that enable the H5N1 avian influenza virus to spread more easily among ferrets, which are often used as a model to determine whether an influenza virus might be transmissible among humans. Concerns about the potential for such findings to aid terrorists and the possibility of accidental release of the virus into the wild touched off a worldwide debate, delayed publication of the results, and prompted a temporary moratorium on such research. The controversial studies were both scheduled for publication in December. Findings from a team of researchers led by Ron Fouchier, PhD, of the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, were slated to appear in Science, and those from a team led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, PhD, DVM, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the University of Tokyo, were to be published in Nature. However, concerns about potential biosecurity risks led the journals and authors to postpone publication. At that time, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which advises the National Institutes of Health on research that, while useful, might also pose biosecurity risks, took the unprecedented step of recommending that the researchers and journals omit some details from the papers to prevent individuals with ill intent from replicating the results. The publications were subsequently delayed. Both the research itself and the NSABB’s recommendations sparked a firestorm of debate about whether the merits of such research outweigh the risks and when sensitive information should be withheld.