Scientists make H1N5 more easily tranmissable in mammals...

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Interesting that, “WHO is developing vaccine candidates using H5N1 viruses isolated in 2003 and 2004, at laboratories in the U.S. and U.K..” per http://birdflu.atspace.com/timeline.htm. And then the first human deaths occur, starting in 2003 with 1, then many more in 2004… http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/30770?utm_medium=email & utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines & utm_source=WC & email=lizzy03@... & eun=g329416d0r & userid=329416 & mu_id=Fast-forward to 2012:Flu Researchers Will Halt Controversial Studies for 60 DaysBy , North American Correspondent, MedPage TodayPublished: January 20, 2012Scientists involved in controversial influenza research say they'll halt such studies for 60 days to allow discussion of how their findings should be reported.Two separate research teams became embroiled in debate when their studies showed how to produce a version of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu virus that is easily transmissible in mammals.The findings led a U.S. governmentagency to request that only the results be published, leaving out the methods. The journals involved, Nature and Science, agreed – on condition that there be a way to provide those details to researchers who needed them to follow up.In a joint letter, published simultaneously in both journals, 39 scientists argue that the research is important, is likely to have important public health implications, and has been conducted with scrupulous regard for safety. " We and the rest of the scientific community need to clearly explain the benefits of this important research and the measures taken to minimize its possible risks, " they wrote.To do that, they urged an " an international forum in which the scientific community comes together to discuss and debate these issues. " But, they added, " we realize that organizations and governments around the world need time to find the best solutions for opportunities and challenges that stem from the work. " To allow that time, they said, they have agreed to a 60-day " voluntary pause " on any research that might lead to the generation of avian influenza H5N1 strains that are more transmissible in mammals.Nor will they do any more work on live viruses already shown to be transmissible in ferrets during the 60 days, they said.The H5N1 virus, although easily transmitted among birds, is not very contagious among humans – as of Jan. 20, there have been only 583 cases reported worldwide, most of them as a result of contact with birds.On the other hand, the virus is very dangerous when do humans catch it – some 343 of the infected people have died of the disease.The two research teams -- led by Ron Fouchier, PhD, of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Yoshihiro Kawaoka, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin Madison – had been investigating whether the H5N1 avian flu could become easily transmitted among mammals while retaining its virulence.It turned out that – in ferrets, in any case – it was not only possible but relatively easy.Since ferrets are often used as an experimental model for human response to flu, health officials in the U.S. – which had provided financial support for the research – grew concerned that the findings could be misused.To prevent that, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (part of the National Institutes of Health) requested that the methods used in the experiments not be published.In their letter to the two journals, the researchers said the fact that viruses possessing a hemagglutinin protein from the H5N1 virus can become transmissible in ferrets is " critical information that advances our understanding of influenza transmission. " But they said that more study is needed to see how influenza viruses in nature become threats to humans, so they can either be contained before they become threats or so that " appropriate countermeasures can be deployed if adaptation to humans occurs. "