H5N1 US/Dutch study: You can make war, but don't do it under the name of science

Scientists mutating the H5N1 to bioweapon
Ron Fouchier at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, are now being seriously criticised because of their study. Kawaoka did the lab work of the  controversial H5N1 study at the University of Wiskonsin, but has also an appointment at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Medical Science. [1]

Both scientist wanted to publish their findings on how to make the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus more transmissible between mammals, a blueprint to set off a flu pandemic.

The researchers and the journal agreed to delete vital informations of the procedure if the US Government allows  "responsible" scientists to see the whole informations, alleging that their data could be useful to monitor H5N1 outbreaks and developing drugs and vaccines.

The researchers reported the production of highly infectious H2N1viruses using only five mutations. The viruses were highly contagious in ferrets. These animals are used as a model to study human infections. It only took five mutations to achieve the desired effect. Increasing the contagiousness of an lethal virus and making their data public are two bad ideas, said Dr. Thomas Inglesby, a bioterrorism expert.  [2]

The  Biological Weapons Convention of 1975 [3]
The Biological Weapons Convention prohibits the development, production, transfer, acquisition, stockpiling, retention and use of biological and toxic weapons and is a major effort of the international community's efforts to address the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The convention opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975. The Convention addresses aflatoxin, anthrax, botulinum toxin, foot-and-mouth disease, glanders, plague, Q fever, rice blast, ricin, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, smallpox, and tularaemia.

Members of the  Biological Weapons Convention: The Convention was signed by 11 nations. Most prominent of the 19 Not-Members is Israel, and 165 nations are state parties, among them are the United States of America, known as a notorious disarmament denier.

Biowar laboratories in USA [4]
The Containment Lab Advisory Community Advisory Committee (CLCAC), is a group formed to act as a liaison between the residents of Frederick County, Maryland, and the containment laboratories in the area. The group says that past risk assessments have downplayed the possible risk of disgruntled employees and insider threat as well as the risk of an external terrorist threat. The committee also warned of the need for a more thorough discussion on lab-acquired infections and lab accidents.

Both the gulf oil spill and the current nuclear crisis in Japan speak to the reality of events sometimes escalating well beyond a hazard assessment's worst-case scenario.

High Containment Labs in Frederick County, Maryland [5]
High containment Labs in Frederick County are: Fort Detrick, USAMRIID, Homeland Security NBACC and NIAID Integrated Research Facility.

Fort Detrick [7]
The U.S. military's flagship biological defense agency has broken ground on a $680 million headquarters building designed for expanded Army research on the world's deadliest pathogens.

The history of Fort Detrick [8]
In 1943, during World War II, Camp Detrick and the USBWL became the site of the U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) with intensive biological warfare (BW) research using various pathogens.

Homeland threat by US bioweapons from Fort Detrick [9]
The only threat of biologic weapons which USA is exposed to, are its own weapons. This was painfully demonstrated in 2001 when seven letters, contaminated with anthrax spores, were mailed in the US. Five people died and  22 infections were registered. with many deaths of a anthrax attack by a US scientists working at the Army laboratory. He took the deadly bacterium  from his working place and has send it to politicians

The  bio-weapons expert Bruce Edwards Ivins was  suspected to be have sent the Bacillus anthracis spores variety Ames (RMR-1029) of his laboratory at the  U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland.  On April 11, 2007, Ivins was put under periodic surveillance. On July 27, 2008, Ivins killed himself with an overdose of acetaminophen. [10]

Bioweapons are failing. Scientists should stop developing them [11]
According to bioprepwatch.com  60 percent of the bioattack cases involved terrorists and 40 percent were criminal in nature. Of the 262 cases, however, 66 percent of the attacks were hoaxes, 21 percent were threats that never came to fruition and only 13 percent were successfully carried out. In USA the 2001 anthrax attack was homemade by an weapon expert at Fort Detrick.

The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo was responsible for 20 attacks between April 1990 and July 1995. Half of their attacks utilized biological weapons, anthrax and Botulinum toxin, but only eight people were killed. The cult was broken up in 1996. Their experts were near to design bugs similar those produced in laboratories in America, Russia and, possibly, China.

Scientists should stop to work on biologic weapons and US government should sign the  Biological Weapons Convention and shut down their labs.

[1] Will Flu Papers Lead to New Research Oversight? Science 6 January 2012: 21.DOI:10.1126/science.335.6064.21
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6064/21.summary

[2] Scientists demonstrates how to turn H5N1 into bioweapon. BioPrepWatch.com. 18 Nov 2011. by Ted Purlain
http://www.bioprepwatch.com/news/289815-scientists-demonstrates-how-to-turn-h5n1-into-bioweapon

[3] The Biological Weapons Convention. The United Nations Office at Geneva
http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/%28httpPages%29/04FBBDD6315AC720C1257180004B1B2F?OpenDocument

[4] Committee looks to conduct risk assessment of Frederick lab. BioPrepWatch 1 Apr 2011.
http://www.bioprepwatch.com/news/239592-committee-looks-to-conduct-risk-assessment-of-frederick-lab

[5] City of Frederick, Maryland: CLCAC
http://www.cityoffrederick.com/index.aspx?NID=558

[6] Biological Agents in USAMRIID Research
http://www.cityoffrederick.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1090

[7] Army breaks ground for bigger biodefense lab at Fort Detrick. BioPrepWatch.com. 19 Oct 2009
http://www.bioprepwatch.com/tags/army-medical-research-institute/news/all

[8] Fort Detrick. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks

[9] 2001 anthrax attacks. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks

[10] Amerithrax Investigative Summary
http://www.justice.gov/amerithrax/docs/amx-investigative-summary.pdf

[11] Use of bioweapons often fails, report says. BioPrepWatch.com. 5 Jul 2011.
http://www.bioprepwatch.com/news/251820-use-of-bioweapons-often-fails-report-says