The risks to world health from research to make an
extraordinarily lethal avian flu virus contagious in humans have
finally caught everyone's attention after months of warnings
from us (Lynn Klotz*) and many other experts. The Atlantic
online (Feb. 16) features this question: Shouldn't regular
citizens be able to weigh in on whether scientists are allowed
to play with a virus that could kill a third of the population?
Writer Pagan Kennedy's answer, summarized in the headline: Good
luck. Unfortunately, that feared virus may already exist. Two
forms of the virus residing in two laboratories, one in the
Netherlands and one in Wisconsin, may be highly contagious and
highly deadly in humans, but we have evidence only from a good
animal model for influenza viruses. We'll never know if it would
be as deadly in humans simply because we cannot infect humans to
get the proof. Those who have been sounding the alarm are among
the world leaders in molecular biology, microbiology, virology,
public health and microbial gene