Moratorium on the development of dangerous pathogens

In the US, it is officially forbidden to make viruses more dangerous

<url>The US government has imposed a moratorium on any scientific research in which pathogenic viruses and bacteria are made more powerful and deadly (we are talking about so-called function acquisition mutations).

The corresponding document was submitted by the Office of Science and Technology under the US presidential Administration on October 17, according to Nature News (White House suspends enhanced pathogen research – VM).

Under the terms of the moratorium, all state bodies of the country stop funding any research to enhance the tolerability and potency of pathogenic microorganisms. Scientists who have already been allocated funds for such work are urged to voluntarily interrupt it for a while until two advisory bodies (the National Scientific Advisory Council on Biosafety and the National Council for Scientific Research) conduct a thorough risk assessment. The document specifically mentions the ban on the "strengthening" of the SARS and MERS influenza viruses.

For the first time such a moratorium was imposed in the United States in 2012. Then, after the publication of two articles describing how the enhanced H5N1 avian influenza virus infects mammals (ferrets) by airborne droplets, the authorities and the public had a lot of questions about what would happen if such research helped terrorists create biological weapons, or if viruses accidentally fall outside the laboratory and lead to a global epidemic. As a result, 39 scientists (flu specialists) agreed to interrupt their work for two months until all safety issues are resolved. The new moratorium is mandatory and affects a more extensive list of viruses and bacteria.

Many virologists reacted positively to the government's decision. "Thinking first and then acting is common sense," said Marc Lipsitch from Harvard. At the next meeting of the biosafety council, this scientist will talk about his plan: to consider each project individually – is it possible to get new scientific knowledge about the virus in a safer way.

Other scientists are afraid of bureaucratic delays and hope that discussions about the safety of studying mutations will take place in an open mode. This position was voiced by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, who conducted one of the controversial studies of the H5N1 virus. "Has the administration decided that now is the time to STOP the research of deadly pathogens? What the hell?" – Alan Dove, the host of the popular blog and podcast This Week In Virology, wrote on Twitter.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru20.10.2014