Under fire for illegal, secret lab at Kobe University, creation of weaponized H5N1 by Teridah Ernala Ginting, Kawaoka now lies about lethal virus he created with stolen Indoneisan H5N1 DNA in order to put blame on Indonesia, says it can be treated with "drugs;" Ernala, Makino, Kawaoka attempt to derail espionage investigation by Indonesian authorities with yet more lies; University of Wisconsin H5N1 lab now involved by virus thief Makino
The Boston Herald
By Erin Brown/LA Times
02/18/2012
LOS ANGELES -
A panel of experts convened by the World Health Organization has decided to extend a moratorium on research using laboratory-modified - and potentially dangerous - strains of the H5N1 influenza virus, also known as bird flu.
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H5N1 creator Ron Fouchier now under fire for Kawaoka association |
The decisions, announced Friday at the close of a two-day meeting in Geneva, follow intense months of debate over the risks and benefits of publishing the studies.
In the wild, H5N1 has proved highly lethal to humans, killing nearly 60 percent of those known to be infected. But the versions in nature do not pass easily between humans.
Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands and Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin in Madison led teams that engineered new strains of bird flu that were easily transmitted through the air between mammals. Fouchier said his strain remained highly lethal; Kawaoka reported that his strain lost some of its killing power and could be managed with drugs.
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WHO Asst. Director K. Fukuda now regrets supporting Kawaoka |
Many scientists, however, argued that moving ahead with the H5N1 research was essential for developing prevention strategies and treatments so they would be prepared if a pandemic were to arise naturally.
Bruce Alberts, the editor of Science, said Friday that his journal had planned to release an amended version of Fouchier’s paper in mid-March. "That’s not going happen" now, he said.