Controversial bird flu research continues
After a year-long pause, research which could aid the spread of a deadly form of bird flu, is set to continue. Research was stopped after fierce debate on the safety of such a study. Concerns were raised about modified viruses escaping the laboratory or being used by terrorists.
However, some argue that the research is vital in understanding how viruses spread, and could help design life-saving vaccines and anti-viral medication.
A type of bird flu known as H5N1 is deadly, and has killed around 50 per cent of the people who have become infected by it. However, it has not resulted in millions of deaths because it does not spread easily from person to person, but is caught by being in close contact with infected birds. Scientists at Erasmus University in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US found that it would take between five and nine mutations in the virus' genetic code to allow it to start a pandemic.
The research marked the beginning of a furore between scientists, governments and publishers of academic research. The US National Science Advisory Board for Bio-security asked academic journals not to publish key aspects of the research, as they feared the knowledge would be misused by terrorists. This resulted in an outcry amongst some scientists who claimed their academic freedom was being restricted, whereas other scientists said the risk of viruses speeding was too great for the research to continue. The findings were eventually published in the journals Nature and Science.
Academics involved in the study agreed to a 60-day moratorium on research, which was extended to over a year. The moratorium has allowed governments time to review the safety standards required to conduct research with advanced viruses, and to decide whether or not to fund such research.
A letter has now been signed by 40 virus researchers and published in Nature and Science, announcing that the moratorium has been lifted. According to the letter, appropriate laboratory conditions have been set in most of the world, and research was "essential for pandemic preparedness." Erasmus University expect to resume research within the next couple of weeks. Many of the other research groups however, will not be able to continue yet. The US has not decided upon the conditions under which it will allow research to take place, which also affects US funded research taking place elsewhere.
Despite the decision, the debate continues on whether the research should take place at all. Professor Robert May of the University of Oxford, former president of the Royal Society said that there have been more than a thousand cases of people becoming infected in labs with the highest standards.
"That's why I feel the world is a safer place if we maintain this moratorium."
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