News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – International experts say that, while experiments on H5N1 avian flu transmission in mammals are important, publishing full details of such "dual-use" studies likely will not speed up the vaccine response in a pandemic, according to a news report and editorial in Nature today.

(CIDRAP News) – The controversy over research about potentially dangerous H5N1 viruses heated up last night in a New York City debate that featured some of the leading voices exchanging blunt comments on the alleged risks and benefits of publishing or withholding the full details of the studies.

(CIDRAP News) – In its first meeting of the year, a panel that advises the federal government on biodefense issues started work on revising the government's strategy for building the best collection of medical countermeasures against biological, chemical, and other threats.

(CIDRAP News) – The core of a US biosecurity advisory board's concern about two controversial, as-yet-unpublished studies on H5N1 viruses is that the studies have shown how to remove the apparent natural barrier that keeps the viruses from spreading efficiently in mammals, members of the board said in statements published today.

(CIDRAP News) – The battle over dissemination of controversial research on mutant H5N1 avian influenza viruses continued in a flurry of commentaries and media letters in recent days, covering the full range of issues from the potential public health benefits to scientific censorship and the risk of bioterrorist exploitation of the findings.

(CIDRAP News) – In releasing safety guidelines today for workers in medical diagnostic laboratories, a panel of experts convened by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the nation needs a system for "nonpunitive" surveillance and reporting of laboratory-acquired infections (LAIs).