The United States intends to consider a federal biodefense panel's
reversal of an earlier call to restrict findings from two avian flu
studies before coordinating with other governments on threats posed by
weapon-usable scientific research, the National Institutes of Health
said on Friday .
The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity last week dropped its December call for the restriction of certain data from research at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin (Madison) that yielded more transmissible versions of the avian flu virus.
National Institutes of Health head Francis Collins and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would receive the board's revised guidance for examination and assessment, according to an NIH statement reported by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
The Health and Human Services Department "will then bring a recommendation to the broader U.S. government for consultation," according to the National Institutes of Health, which provided financial support for each project. "Following a decision by HHS on the NSABB recommendations, HHS will work with the international community in moving forward on dual-use research more broadly."
The Wisconsin group was encouraged by the federal board's call for full release of the findings, study head Yoshihiro Kawaoka said, adding the decision was not a shock. Elaborating on his study's medical meaning proved to be a significant factor in the panel's debate, he added.
"Specifically, we were able to explain that very few mutations are needed for the hemagglutinin of the currently circulating H5N1 viruses to become a hemagglutinin that supports respiratory droplet transmission in ferrets," Kawaoka said.
The biodefense panel wishes in coming months to pursue a number of additional suggestions on matters related to bird flu studies, Chairman Paul Keim said.
The Dutch team's updated report outlines data pointing to gains from the scientific efforts, Discover Magazine quoted Ron Fouchier, who oversaw the research in the Netherlands, as saying on Monday. The journal Science would break down some of the details in an article slated for publication, as would findings awaiting publication from a second research effort, he said.
A British Royal Society conference planned for Tuesday and Wednesday in London is expected to bring together Fouchier and Kawaoka, as well as delegates from the federal panel, managers for the two journals that previously agreed to withhold components of the research, and numerous specialists in areas including bird flu, biological defense and studies with both peaceful and weapons applications.
The journal Nature has so far not established a preliminary schedule for releasing the Wisconsin findings, spokeswoman Rebecca Walton said.
The report from Fouchier's scientists must undergo additional scrutiny from fellow researchers and text alterations, Science lead editor Bruce Alberts said in prepared remarks on Friday.
Science would confirm the resolution of all potential problems by communicating with the Dutch scientific group and the government of the Netherlands, Alberts added. A possible measure considered by the Netherlands could use trade regulations to restrict the release of the study's findings
http://www.nti.org/gsn/
The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity last week dropped its December call for the restriction of certain data from research at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin (Madison) that yielded more transmissible versions of the avian flu virus.
National Institutes of Health head Francis Collins and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would receive the board's revised guidance for examination and assessment, according to an NIH statement reported by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
The Health and Human Services Department "will then bring a recommendation to the broader U.S. government for consultation," according to the National Institutes of Health, which provided financial support for each project. "Following a decision by HHS on the NSABB recommendations, HHS will work with the international community in moving forward on dual-use research more broadly."
The Wisconsin group was encouraged by the federal board's call for full release of the findings, study head Yoshihiro Kawaoka said, adding the decision was not a shock. Elaborating on his study's medical meaning proved to be a significant factor in the panel's debate, he added.
"Specifically, we were able to explain that very few mutations are needed for the hemagglutinin of the currently circulating H5N1 viruses to become a hemagglutinin that supports respiratory droplet transmission in ferrets," Kawaoka said.
The biodefense panel wishes in coming months to pursue a number of additional suggestions on matters related to bird flu studies, Chairman Paul Keim said.
The Dutch team's updated report outlines data pointing to gains from the scientific efforts, Discover Magazine quoted Ron Fouchier, who oversaw the research in the Netherlands, as saying on Monday. The journal Science would break down some of the details in an article slated for publication, as would findings awaiting publication from a second research effort, he said.
A British Royal Society conference planned for Tuesday and Wednesday in London is expected to bring together Fouchier and Kawaoka, as well as delegates from the federal panel, managers for the two journals that previously agreed to withhold components of the research, and numerous specialists in areas including bird flu, biological defense and studies with both peaceful and weapons applications.
The journal Nature has so far not established a preliminary schedule for releasing the Wisconsin findings, spokeswoman Rebecca Walton said.
The report from Fouchier's scientists must undergo additional scrutiny from fellow researchers and text alterations, Science lead editor Bruce Alberts said in prepared remarks on Friday.
Science would confirm the resolution of all potential problems by communicating with the Dutch scientific group and the government of the Netherlands, Alberts added. A possible measure considered by the Netherlands could use trade regulations to restrict the release of the study's findings
http://www.nti.org/gsn/
