Pause on avian flu transmission studies

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Wednesday, Feb 08 2012 12PM 1°C 3PM 1°C 5-Day Forecast
Details of secret experiments on deadly man-made bird flu will inevitably leak, says bioterrorism expert




























































H5N1 warning: Professor Paul Keim

H5N1 warning: Professor Paul Keim

Details of secret experiments by scientists who have created the most deadly form of flu in the lab will inevitably be leaked - potentially into the hands of terrorists - an expert has warned.

A furore erupted in December over the decision by the U.S National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) to censor details of the virus, which can be transmitted by coughs and sneezes - but now the head of that board claims they will enter the public domain anyway.

Professor Paul Keim has issued a stark warning to governments to begin preparing for an outbreak.

‘We recognise that, in the long term certainly, the information is going to get out, and maybe even in the midterm,’ he told The Independent.

‘But if we can restrict it in the short term and motivate governments to start getting busy in terms of building up the flu-defence infrastructure, then we’ve succeeded at a certain level.’

Chillingly, he added: ‘The infrastructure to stop a pandemic in this area is not there. We just don’t have the capabilities. Even if we spotted it early on, I don’t think we have enough vaccines. The vaccines aren’t good enough, and the drugs are not good enough to stop this emerging and being a pandemic.’

The NSABB set off a furious debate in the scientific and public health communities in December when it asked the journals Nature and Science to censor two studies on new strains of the H5N1 virus.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... xpert.html

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/va ... 1443a.html