Time Magazine H5N1 avian influenza

[Guest guest]

Thursday, Jul. 13, 2006 Secret Sequences

When H5N1 avian influenza hit a family in rural Indonesia in May,

killing seven of eight people infected, it marked the most serious

known incidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

The most immediate response involved examining and tracking anyone

who had come into contact with the infected, to make sure that the

virus hadn't spread beyond the family, which could have marked the

beginning of a pandemic. But scientists were also quick to obtain

virus samples taken from the outbreak and genetically sequence the

isolates back in labs in Hong Kong and Atlanta. By comparing the

genetic code of viruses taken from the new outbreak to past strains

of H5N1, scientists could hope to see if the bird flu virus had

mutated in such a way that could make it more likely to pass from

person to person.

At the time the WHO issued reassuring statements that there had

been " no significant mutations, " but an article in this week's Nature

(subscription required) argues that the UN health agency may have

been underplaying the situation. Nature obtained greater detail on

the genetic sequences of the Sumatra viruses and found that they had

accumulated a number of mutations—which suggests that the virus was

evolving rapidly as it spread from person to person. (The article is

summarized at CIDRAP.)

RNA-based viruses like H5N1 are naturally unstable and tend to mutate

frequently as they replicate, so it's not surprising to see

differences from one strain to another, and in the end none of the

mutations seen in the Sumatra were sufficient to allow the virus to

spread outside the family. Still, the sheer number of mutations is

worrisome.

More importantly, the article touches on an increasingly

controversial question in the world of influenza research: should the

genetic sequences of H5N1 viruses, most of which are currently

circulated only within a small group of scientists connected to the

WHO and CDC, be posted publicly for all to see?

It should be a no-brainer—the more scientists allowed to look at the

H5N1 sequences, the thinking goes, the more likely someone will

generate a fresh insight. But as is often the case with bird flu,

politics are at least as important as public health. The WHO says

that the sequences are the property of the member states that supply

them—in this case Indonesia—and if those countries want the data kept

confidential, there's nothing the UN body can do.

Because international cooperation is critical in the fight against

bird flu, WHO officials are loathe to press member states to allow

the sequences to be released. (China, for instance, keeps almost all

of its H5N1 isolates to itself.) Poor countries like Indonesia are

also worried that if a vaccine or drug is developed elsewhere from

one of " their " viruses, they'll be cut out of the scientific glory

and the profits. And some of the scientists who are allowed to see

the sequences might not want the data to become public before they

can publish their work.

Still, with all the emphasis that's been placed on the importance of

openness when it comes to fighting avian flu, it seems a tad

hypocritical for such vital data to be kept confidential. As soon as

possible, the sequences should made public.

http://time.blogs.com/global_health/2006/07/mutations.html