The U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity has reportedly asked scientific journals Nature and Science not to publish the details of studies done on the bird flu virus. The Board expressed concerns that the information could be used by bioterrorists.
A Dutch and an American research team have managed to figure out ways to mutate the avian flu virus so that it can become highly transmissible among humans. The researchers have reportedly submitted their work to the journals - Nature and Science.
The Advisory Board has asked the journals to publish scaled down versions of the studies. The request is non-binding; the U.S. government does not have the power to block the publications. In separate statements, the journals said that they are working with the biosecurity advisory board to come up with a compromise. One idea would be for the journals to limit what they reveal, and then have the government create a system in which those parties who need to see the full details of the research could be granted access to the material.
The bird flu virus is considered dangerous because it has a high death rate in humans. Of the 600 people who have to date been infected with the H5N1 virus, 60 percent have died. But while humans can catch the virus from birds, H5N1 currently does not transmit easily from person-to-person.
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