The irrationality of GOF avian influenza virus research

Frontiers in Public Health

Volumn 2, Issue JUL, 2014, Pages

  Wain Hobson, Simon ^a,b  

^a INSTITUT PASTEUR   (France)

^b Foundation for Vaccine Research   (United States)

Author keywords

Airborne transmission; Avian influenza; DURC; Human adaptation; Unfalsifiable

Indexed keywords

EID: 84961121551     PISSN: None     EISSN: 22962565     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2014.00077     Document Type: Article

References (23)

1. Imai M,Watanabe T, Hatta M, Das SC, Ozawa M, Shinya K, et al. Experimen-tal adaptation of an influenza H5 HA confers respiratory droplet transmis-sion to a reassortant H5 HA/H1N1 virus in ferrets. Nature (2012) 486:420-8. doi:10.1038/nature10831
2. Herfst S, Schrauwen EJ, Linster M, Chutinimitkul S, de Wit E, Munster VJ, et al. Airborne transmission of influenza A/H5N1 virus between ferrets. Science (2012) 336:1534-41. doi:10.1126/science.1213362
3. Zhang Y, Zhang Q, Kong H, Jiang Y, Gao Y, Deng G, et al. H5N1 hybrid viruses bearing 2009/H1N1 virus genes transmit in guinea pigs by respiratory droplet. Science (2013) 340:1459-63. doi:10.1126/science.1229455
4. Sutton TC, FinchC, ShaoH,AngelM,ChenH,Capua I, et al.Airborne transmis-sion of highly pathogenic H7N1 influenza in ferrets. J Virol (2014) 88:6623-35.
5. Wain-Hobson S. H5N1 viral-engineering dangers will not go away. Nature (2013) 495:411. doi:10.1038/495411a
6. Furmanski M. Laboratory Escapes and "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy" Epidemics. (2014). Available from: http://armscontrolcenter.org/Escaped_Viruses-final_ 2-17-14.pdf
7. York I, Donis RO. The 2009 pandemic influenza virus: where did it come from, where is it now, where is it going? Curr Top Microbiol Immunol (2013) 370:241-57. doi:10.1007/82_2012_221
8. Morens DM, Taubenberger JK, Fauci AS. Pandemic influenza virus -hop-ing for the road not taken. N Engl J Med (2013) 368:2345-8. doi:10.1056/ NEJMp1307009
9. Morse SS, Mazet JA, Woolhouse M, Parrish CR, Carroll D, Karesh WB, et al. Prediction and prevention of the next pandemic zoonosis. Lancet (2012) 380:1956-65. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61684-5
10. Wain-Hobson S. Pandemic influenza viruses: time to recognize our inability to predict the unpredictable and stop dangerous gain-of-function experiments. EMBO Mol Med (2013) 5:1637-41. doi:10.1002/emmm.201303475
11. Gao R, Cao B, Hu Y, Feng Z, Wang D, Hu W, et al. Human infection with a novel avian-origin influenza A (H7N9) virus. N Engl JMed (2013) 368:1888-97. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1304459
12. Shortridge KF. Pandemic influenza: a zoonosis? Semin Respir Infect (1992) 7:11-25.
13. NishiuraH,YenHL,Cowling BJ. Sample size considerations for one-to-one ani-mal transmission studies of the influenza A viruses. PLoS One (2013) 8:e55358. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055358
14. Epperson S, Blanton L, Kniss K, Mustaquim D, Steffens C, Wallis T, et al. Influenza activity -United States, 2013-14 season and composition of the 2014-15 influenza vaccines. MMWR Morb MortalWkly Rep (2014) 63:483-90.
15. Chen H, Yuan H, Gao R, Zhang J, Wang D, Xiong Y, et al. Clinical and epi-demiological characteristics of a fatal case of avian influenza A H10N8 virus infection: a descriptive study. Lancet (2014) 383:714-21. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60111-2
16. García-Sastre A, Schmolke M. Avian influenza A H10N8 -a virus on the verge? Lancet (2014) 383:676-7. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60163-X
17. Parry J. H10N8 avian flu virus claims its first known human casualty. Br Med J (2014) 348:g1360. doi:10.1136/bmj.g1360
18. To KK, Tsang AK, Chan JF, Cheng VC, Chen H, Yuen KY. Emergence in China of human disease due to avian influenza A(H10N8) -cause for concern? J Infect (2014) 68:205-15. doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2013.12.014
19. Tharakaraman K, Raman R,Viswanathan K, Stebbins NW, Jayaraman A, Krish-nan A, et al. Structural determinants for naturally evolving H5N1 hemagglu-tinin to switch its receptor specificity. Cell (2013) 153:1475-85. doi:10.1016/j. cell.2013.05.035
20. Yuan J, Zhang L, Kan X, Jiang L, Yang J, Guo Z, et al. Origin and molecular characteristics of a novel 2013 avian influenza A (H6N1) virus caus-ing human infection in Taiwan. Clin Infect Dis (2013) 57:1367-8. doi:10.1093/ cid/cit479
21. Van Noorden R. Safety survey reveals lab risks. Nature (2013) 493:9-10. doi:10.1038/493009a
22. Lipsitch M, Plotkin JB, Simonsen L, Bloom B. Evolution, safety, and highly pathogenic influenza viruses. Science (2012) 336:1529-31. doi:10.1126/science. 1223204
23. Osterholm MT, Relman DA. Creating a mammalian-transmissible A/H5N1 influenza virus: social contracts, prudence, and alternative perspectives. J Infect Dis (2012) 205:1636-8. doi:10.1093/infdis/jis259