Destroy a Third of the Human Race New Genetically Engineered Virus It is okay. The NRC is so sure that radiation is not a problem that they do not measure it in fish or air off the West Coast of the U.S. And scientists are so sure that their carefully engineered "destroy a third of the human race new genetically engineered virus" won't escape their laboratory that they have beefed up the minimum wage security detail from one to two guards during the night. It is all okay. Sleep well and good night. "We are in a situation where the probabilities of a laboratory accident that leads to global spread of an escaped mutated virus are small but finite, while the impact of global spread could be catastrophic," they add.

1. THE INDEPENDENT MONDAY 23 DECEMBER 2013
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E LE PH A N T A PPE A L D ON A T E N OW >
'Untrue statements' anger over work to make
H5N1 bird-flu virus MORE dangerous to
humans
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Coalition of leading scientists claim ferret experiments could lead to a
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SCIENCE EDITOR Friday 20 December 2013
P RINT
Some of the world's most eminent scientists have severely criticised the
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PEOPLE
arguments used by some influenza researchers who are trying to make the
H5N1 bird-flu virus more dangerous to humans by repeatedly infecting
laboratory ferrets.
More than 50 senior scientists from 14 countries, including three Nobel
laureates and several fellows of the Royal Society, have written to the
European Commission denouncing claims that the ferret experiments are
necessary for the development of new flu vaccines and anti-viral drugs.
T hey also said it is "untrue" to state that the new mutations in the
laboratory strain of H5N1, which have enabled the bird-flu virus to be
airborne transmissible between ferrets and, potentially, people, have
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2. already been seen in nature.
T he letter signed by 56 eminent scientists, many of whom are national
science academicians, was designed to correct "misstatements" made by
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Palu, who they claim made "incorrect" assertions about the need to carry
out the research in an earlier letter he had sent to the Commission.
T he ferret research is being carried out by Ron Fouchier and colleagues at
the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam. He has been involved in a legal
dispute with the Dutch government which has insisted that he needs an
export licence before his H5N1 work is published in a scientific journal.
T he Dutch government claimed that the work to study the mutations
needed to make H5N1 airborne transmissible between ferrets or people
has a possible dual civil-military function and could be misused by
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bioterrorists. Meanwhile, Dr Fouchier has argued that an export licence
hampers his academic freedom to publish the results of his experiments in
the open scientific literature.
Professor Palu wrote to the president of the European Commission in
October to lobby for a change to the EU regulations covering export
licences on behalf of Dr Fouchier, arguing that the Dutch scientist has
already suffered from bureaucratic delays that have enabled other
researchers in the US to publish before him and so claim priority.
Professor Palu said that Dr Fouchier's "gain of function" experiments are
designed to see what kind of mutations are necessary to enable the birdflu virus to be transmissible between mammals in order to make better
vaccines and drugs, and that these mutations have already been seen in
nature.
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"It has to be mentioned that, in this specific case, the 'gain of function' was
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used to reproduce what nature already selected (as demonstrated by
sequencing of field mutants) with the variation that the aim of the study
was to predict/anticipate biological evolution and to provide us with
critical information to specify preventive and therapeutic measures,"
Professor Palu wrote.
However, the letter from the 56 scientists, including Lord May of Oxford,
a former government chief scientist, states that this assertion is wrong and
gives a false impression about the medical need to undertake such
dangerous research.
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"T he sole purpose of the experiments in question was to generate H5N1
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viruses that could be transmitted between mammals as readily as
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letter says.
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"Despite intensive field surveillance conducted by national health
23
authorities, government agencies, local and regional disease surveillance
networks in Southeast Asia and elsewhere over a period of 16 years, there
is no evidence that efficiently mammalian transmissible H5N1 viruses
have ever emerged naturally in the wild," it says.
"In summary, the statement that 'gain of function' was used to reproduce
'what nature already selected (as demonstrated by sequencing of field
mutants)' is simply untrue," it adds.
T he signatories of the letter, who include eminent virologists,
microbiologists and vaccine experts, as well as Nobel laureates Sir
Richard Roberts, Harald zur Hausen and Richard Ernst, warned that there
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3. is a serious risk of an accidental release of a pandemic H5N1 virus from
laboratories undertaking such research.
"T he potential for accidental release of a hazardous pathogen is real, not
hypothetical, as demonstrated by an alarming increase in the number of
potential and actual release events in laboratories working with highthreat pathogens," they say.
"We are in a situation where the probabilities of a laboratory accident that
leads to global spread of an escaped mutated virus are small but finite,
while the impact of global spread could be catastrophic," they add.
Professor Palu was unavailable for comment.
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