Lethal 1918 Spanish Flu Virus Is Genetically Reconstructed

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LETHAL VIRUS FROM 1918 GENETICALLY RECONSTRUCTED

US ARMY SCIENTISTS CREATE " SPANISH FLU " VIRUS IN LABORATORY - MEDICAL

BENEFIT QUESTIONABLE

The Sunshine Project

News Release

October 9, 2003

 

http://www.sunshine-project.org/publications/pr/pr091003.html

 

AUSTIN AND HAMBURG ­ The 'Spanish Flu' influenza virus that killed 20-40

million people in 1918 is currently under reconstruction. Several genes of

the extraordinarily lethal 1918 flu virus have been isolated and introduced

into contemporary flu strains. These proved to be lethal for mice, while

virus constructs with genes from a current flu virus types had hardly any

effect. These experiments may easily be abused for military purposes, but

provide little benefit from a medical or public health point of view.

 

The 1918 Spanish Flu was highly infectious and -- in comparison to

contemporary flu viruses -- killed a very high percentage of those infected,

including many younger people. The Spanish Flu alone caused the medium life

expectancy in the US in 1918 to drop by 10 years. Hence, flu viruses are

perceived today as a serious biological warfare threat. Just two weeks ago,

a 15 million dollar research grant was awarded in the US to develop

protective measures especially against a bioterrorist attack with flu

viruses.

 

Despite the very dangerous nature of the 1918 virus, efforts to reconstruct

it started in the mid 1990s, when Dr Jeffrey Taubenberger from the US Armed

Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington DC succeeded in recovering and

sequencing fragments of the viral RNA from preserved tissues of 1918

victims. In the current issue of the scientific journal Emerging Infectious

Diseases new genetic details of the 1918 flu virus will be published.

 

But after (partially) unravelling the genetic sequence of the virus, the

scientists went a step further and began bringing the Spanish flu back to

life. Unnoticed by the public, they succeeded in creating a live virus

containing two 1918 genes that proved to be very lethal in animal

experiments. This experiment is only one genetic step away from taking the

1918 demon entirely out of the bottle.

 

A resuscitation of the Spanish flu is neither necessary nor warranted from a

public health point of view. Allegedly, the recent experiments sought to

test the efficacy of existing antiviral drugs on the 1918 construct. But

there is little need for antiviral drugs against the 1918 strain if the 1918

strain had not been recreated in the first place. " It simply does not make

any scientific sense to create a new threat just to develop new

countermeasures against it, " says Jan van Aken, biologist with the Sunshine

Project, " Genetic characterization of influenza strains has important

biomedical applications. But it is not justifiable to recreate this

particularly dangerous eradicated strain that could wreak havoc if released,

deliberately or accidentally . "

 

Construction of new maximum security (BSL-4) laboratories for biodefense

research has been justified in part by citing the potential of the Spanish

Flu as a biological weapon. Influenza usually requires a low level of

containment; but when scientists begin recombining virulence-related genes,

the danger dramatically increases. The University of Texas Medical Branch's

BSL-4 plans influenza 'gene reassortment' experiments in maximum

containment. " This kind of research is creating a vicious circle, and could

prompt a race by biodefense scientists to genetic engineer unthinkable

diseases " , says Edward Hammond of the Sunshine Project, " What disease

comes after influenza? Biodefense laboratories must not become

self-fulfilling prophesy centers. The world does not need biodefense

programs to create a 'genetically engineered disease gap'. "

 

From an arms control perspective it appears to be particularly sensitive if

a military research institution embarks on a project that aims at

constructing more dangerous pathogens. " If Jeffery Taubenberger worked in a

Chinese, Russian or Iranian laboratory, his work might well be seen as the

'smoking gun' of an offensive biowarfare program, " says van Aken.

 

A Sunshine Project briefing paper on the 'Reconstruction of the Spanish

influenza virus ' provides further details and a comprehensive literature

list.

 

http://www.sunshine-project.org/

 

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