In an attempt to discover how specific viruses can mutate and spread to other species, such as humans, scientists from two labs have successfully created a man made version of the infamous H5N1 virus, otherwise known as avian influenza or more commonly the Bird Flu virus. Much to their own surprise, they also discovered just how easy it was.
Funding for the project came from the U.S. government via the National Institutes of Health where Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief of infectious diseases resides. Dr. Fauci states that federal authorities have decided to have the blue print of the discovery under international lock and key. The fear is that if it was published in typical research journals, the results could be confiscated by potential bio-terrorists individuals or groups.
Because such discoveries can actually be very helpful for other scientists and medical experts, biosecurity experts and advisors to the U.S. government said it was not an easy decision but a vital one to withhold parts of the entire contents of the discovery of the man made strains.
The research and findings are currently being held in high security vaults at two locations; one being in the Netherlands and one in the United States. A protocol is being developed so that select individual scientists will have access to the entire report only to build on the information and perhaps help those people in areas that suffer most profoundly from the Bird Flu such as China and Indonesia.
The avian influenza or Bird Flu virus typically only infects the poultry population but has been known to spread to humans who have high levels of contact with the infected birds. The Bird Flu is a very dangerous strain of influenza and has a mortality rate of up to 60 percent.
Besides the threat of bioterrorism, biosecurity experts are also concerned about lab accidents that could inadvertantly spread the man made strain. The discovery and the landmark decision to supress the entire contents comes with a mixed bag of emotions for all of the scientific community. They are still trying to sort out the details of how much and when the results will be made public and who will be allowed to access it.
Source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/details-lab-made-bird-flu-132155927.html
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