Little evidence of subclinical avian influenza virus infections among rural villagers in Cambodia.
Gray GC, Krueger WS, Chum C, Putnam SD, Wierzba TF, Heil GL, Anderson BD, Yasuda CY, Williams M, Kasper MR, Saphonn V, Blair PJ.
PLoS One. 2014 May 12;9(5):e97097. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097097. eCollection 2014.
In 2008, 800 adults living within rural Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia were enrolled in a 2 year prospective cohort study of zoonotic influenza transmission. Apart from symptomatic human influenza infections a single symptomatic H5N1 infection of avian origin was identified.
Interestingly a handful of symptomatic avian influenza infections were identified using patient sera. Using a conservative WHO accepted cut off for serum titers one individual scored positive using a H9N2 test virus and two others for a H12N5 virus. As the titer of human H5N1 convalescent sera wanes within one year these numbers are probably underestimates.
The paper shows that more strains of avian influenza viruses infect man than judged by symptomatic infections. Spill over resulting in asymptomatic infection could well be relatively common with symptomatic infections being a subset.
Time to settle the synthetic biology controversy
Nature. 2014 May 8;509(7499):135. doi: 10.1038/509135a.
Two comments were prompted by this piece from ter Meulen.
Synthetic biology: Missing the point.
Evans SW and others.
Nature. 2014 Jun 12;510(7504):218. doi: 10.1038/510218b.
Synthetic biology: A global approach
Keasling JD and others
Nature 2014 Jun 12;510(7504):218. doi: 10.1038/510218c.
The first contains two sentences that are relevant to GOF-discussed.
“…supporting synthetic biology is not about making sure that science can go wherever it wants: it is about making the type of society people want to live in.”
“It is not unknown for scientists themselves to foster exaggeration and uncritical acceptance of claims, or to focus on anticipated benefits rather than on risks.”
Personal opinion
Synthetic biologists do not intend to make microbes that threaten humankind. If ever such an organism arose they may well be horrified. The intent of avian GOF influenza A virus research is to make novel viruses that are dangerous for humans with the idea of using them to develop vaccines and drugs, claims that do not hold water.
The Soviet biological warfare program and its uncertain legacy.
Past Soviet secrecy when linked with a promise by Putin raise nagging questions about Russian BW-related intentionsRaymond A. Zilinskas
Microbe, 2014. 9, 191-197.
RZ is Director of Chemical & Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, California
The paper is interesting and relevant for two reasons. The first is that some of the work undertaken during the second generation of Russian biological warfare (1972-94) is the equivalent of gain of function virus research.
“The Soviet second-generation BW program had two components, codenamed Ferment and Ekology. Ferment was mandated to weaponize pathogens for use against humans, while Ekology weaponized animal and plant pathogens. Both components were set up to apply genetic engineering techniques to enhance the ability of pathogens to cause infections, to increase the virulence of pathogens, to endow them with new capabilities for circumventing or defeating defenses against them, including vaccines, antibiotics, and detection techniques, and to develop new genetic constructs that caused unique symptoms. It bears noting that in today’s parlance these kinds of experiments are termed “gain of function” experiments.”
Reversing the argument based on cold war logic leads to the conclusion that contemporary GOF influenza virus experiments are de facto the equivalent of biological warfare research. Accordingly, if this work had been performed in some military lab in the West and had been leaked to the press, it is probable that there would have been uproar with headlines like “Weaponizing avian flu”.
The second reason why this article is worth reading is the suggestion that Russia might engage on a new round of biological warfare research.
