Subject H5N1: Researchers Abandon Voluntary Moratorium

2013/03/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna
• Genetika
• Etika

The researchers announced at the end of last January, through a letter published in the journals Science and Nature, that the decision made a year ago not to investigate with certain variants of the H5N1 virus has been suspended. In the letter, researchers concluded the voluntary moratorium by saying that "it is time to resume research," as "scientists, governments and society have had time to discuss the need for research and implement new security measures."

The cause arose in January 2012, as research groups created variants of H5N1 avian flu capable of infecting ferrets through the airways. The results indicated that the H5N1 virus of birds can produce a pandemic of influenza among humans greater than expected and an intense debate arose about the suitability of research and the publicity of information. The circumstances have caused researchers to apply 60 days of voluntary moratorium on their investigations and, a year later, decide to suspend the moratorium.