http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20120523D21HH218.htm
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
[SIZE="4"]Person-To-Person Bird Flu A Threat: Tokyo Univ Prof[/SIZE]
[SIZE="2"]Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka[/SIZE]
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Earlier this month, the British science journal Nature published a controversial study arguing the deadly avian H5N1 influenza virus could become transmissible from person to person if it were engineered to do so.
The research was led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a professor at the University of Tokyo and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The U.S. government tried to block publication of the findings, fearing a terrorist group might use the information to create a biological weapon. The study also sparked controversy at the United Nation's World Health Organization.
"Rather than a hypothetical terrorist attack, the chances of a new influenza virus emerging are far greater and more realistic," said Kawaoka, defending his position with the U.S. government and other organizations.
The soft-spoken Kawaoka leads research teams both in Japan and the U.S.
Kawaoka's interest in avian flu research traces back to his undergraduate days. He found it difficult to pursue his research on highly virulent bird flu in Japan, and decided to move to the U.S., which is a world leader in the study of infectious disease. He developed the first technology to genetically manipulate influenza viruses, drawing the attention of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
The H5N1 virus has already begun mutating naturally, said Kawaoka. Because the outbreak of the bird flu virus was small three years ago, countries around the world have dropped their guards against new types of influenza. "That's a big mistake," he warned.
-- Translated from an article by senior Nikkei staff writer Junichi Taki
(The Nikkei, May 21 morning edition)
http://www.nature.com/news/bird-flu-research-the-biosecurity-oversight-1.10695
:::>Mutant Flu Storyline
8O8O8O8O8O
