US puts lid on flu experiments over terror fears

Asks scientific journals not to publish research data in detail

Fear of misuse as a lethal bio-terrorism agent has prompted the US government to ask two of the world's leading scientific journals – “Science” and “Nature” – not to publish technical details on the creation of a deadly avian influenza strain which has the potential to transmit easily among human and cause millions of deaths.

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity created after the Anthrax scare post 9/11 on Wednesday has asked the editors of the journals to withhold certain technical details showing how an avian influenza virus (H5N1) can wreak havoc among humans.

“Editors at Science are taking very seriously a request by the NSABB to publish only an abbreviated version of a research report related to a strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus, Bruce Alberts, editor in chief of the journal said in a statement.

NSABB emphasised the need to curtail publication of the details of research to ensure that it does not fall into wrong hands.

The deadly genetically altered virus was created Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Center and colleagues in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Another team at the University of Wisconsin in Madison  came out with comparable results.

Both were funded by the US National Institutes of Health, which backed the censorship.
Even though Fouchier had presented part of his research at a scientific conference in September and gave interviews the press, both papers were reviewed by the NSABB for their potential to be misused.

H5N1 decimates the poultry but did no harm for human because of its poor transmissibility. The modified H5N1 virus is transmits easily between ferrets, animals that most closely mimic human response to flu and many scientists believe it has the potential to cause a pandemic if released in the wild.

A news report by “Science” last month quoted Fouchier as saying that it is “probably one of the most dangerous viruses one can make.” The research was also important from public health perspective as influenza has emerged as one of the key public health threats.

The Erasmus Medical Centre said the virus could easily cha­nge into a variant that is a threat to public health. But the information can be used to prevent any occurrence of a pandemic or develop vaccines and medication.

Erasmus said its researchers are working on a new manuscript but maintaining confidentiality is almost impossible given the fact that the data has to be shared with hundreds of researchers and governments.