THE top US biosecurity committee has called for global guidelines for research on dangerous flu strains.
H5N1 bird flu is lethal, but cannot usually spread between mammals by air. So work in 2011 showing airborne transmission caused a sensation. So much so that, in December, the US (NSABB) advised against publishing details of the work. The rationale was that if terrorists 鈥� or sloppy scientists 鈥� released such a virus, the effects could be devastating. Last month, however, the NSABB changed its mind, in the face of legal hurdles and re-assessment of the risk.
It now seems that only 12 of 18 NSABB members voted for that U-turn. of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, one of the six dissenters, says the NSABB did not fully analyse the risks and benefits of publishing, including the chances that 鈥渨ell-meaning scientists seeking to repeat the work might not have adequate biosafety measures鈥�.
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This week, however, the NSABB proposed talks to draft global guidelines for doing and communicating work with dangerous pathogens.