| Upholstered virus researchers: Our research is vital |
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 Yoshihiro Kawaoka leads one of the research groups that the U.S. government recently forced to time out. If the virus behind bird flu mutates so that it is contagious between humans, it can cause a pandemic.
The research on lethal variants of avian influenza is essential to curb future global epidemics. It Yoshihiro Kawaoka writes in Nature. Kawaoka leads one of the research groups that the U.S. government recently forced to time out.
A few days ago had an American and a Dutch research team to take time
out from his research. The reason was that in their lab-created
variants of the avian flu virus that is contagious between humans and
now publish the findings in the scientific journals Nature and Science.
When the U.S. government intervened and the researchers were forced to time-out for 60 days. The reason was the risk that the results would be used for bioterrorism. In today's issue of Nature, Yoshihiro Kawaoka writes that he finds himself in the decision, but he did not agree that it constitutes a risk. On the contrary, he argues that research is essential to stop a future global epidemic of bird flu.
Unlike the swine flu (H5N1) avian flu is not contagious between people. But the virus mutates and the risk is that such strains could arise -
not least because the virus often changes with each generation.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka explains that research teams have found such mutated
viruses when they cultivated the two viruses together. The new variance
minister of bird flu infection since ferrets in separate cages by
airborne infection.
In the article he points out that the American version did not kill the
ferrets. It did, however, the virus variant, the Dutch researchers at
Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam has developed. Not least because
Yoshihiro Kawaoka believes that science is important and advocates for
research to develop vaccines have to take off.
Because if it can be done in the lab, it is even likely to occur in
nature, but he is. Because it is important that other researchers will
have access to their results, he writes.
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