December 21, 2011 In an unprecidented move, a government advisory panel is asking scientists to withold details of their research that is intended to be published.
The panel said conclusions should be published, but not “experimental details and mutation data that would enable replication of the experiments.”
The A (H5N1) virus, which causes bird flu was first detected in 1997 and has since infected approximately 600 people, killing more than 300 of those affected, mostly in Asia.
The A (H5N1) virus rarely infects humans, but when it does the death rate is extraordinarily high. The virus is almost always transmitted to humans by birds.
Two scientists, Yoshihiro Kawaoka from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center, in the Netherlands working seperately have discovered a mutant strain of the H5N1 that makes the virus airborne (enabling it to spread readily between humans), without making it less deadly.
Researchers and editors are generally ready to fight censorship in any form.
However, the editor of Science, Bruce Alberts admits there is legitimate cause for concern about the researchers’ techniques falling into the 'wrong hands.'
“I wouldn’t call this censorship,” Dr. Alberts said. “This is trying to avoid inappropriate censorship. It’s the scientific community trying to step out front and be responsible.”
The idea that terrorists may benefit from such information is not as far-fetched as it might sound.
In December 2008, a report issued by the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation warned that “terrorists are more likely to be able to obtain and use a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon.”
In 2009, the World Health Organization stated that al-Qaeda was experimenting with plague in a report titled “40 al-Qaeda fanatics died horribly from a killer plague.” However, the news of the incident was largely ignored.
The Washington Times reported that a senior U.S. intelligence official said he could not confirm reports that at least 40 al Qaeda operatives were killed during the experience, but he said the 'mishap' led the militant group to shut down a base in the mountains of Tizi Ouzou province in eastern Algeria.
Proponents argue that the threat of a global pandemic, if a mutated strain occured in nature, is far greater than the threat of bioterrorism.
A recent report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security titled Insider Threat to Utilities, warns "violent extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions" at U.S. laboratories. The report released in July revealed:
"Al Qaeda has already put out the word in its online magazine, Inspire, for "brothers of ours who have specialized expertise and those who work in sensitive locations that would offer them unique opportunities to wreak havoc on the enemies of Allah."
Some bioterrorism experts and scientists have expressed concern over the massive federal spending on "hot" laboratories and research projects that focus on "select agents" as potential bioterror pathogens are making it more likely that an attack could originate from "insiders."
"We've grown all these laboratories around the country and we're bringing in thousands of new scientists to work on these pathogens, without commensurate controls that would give us confidence that we don't have another potential 'insider' problem," said investigative journalist and author David Willman.
Others question if scientists should be performing such experiments in the first place.
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