Scientists Concerned About New Bird Flu Vaccine Research

Research on the bird flu virus that involved creating a highly contagious strain has some scientists worried that the findings could lead to the development of a bioweapon, according to numerous media outlets.

At a European flu conference in September, Ron Fouchier, a scientist at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, doing vaccine research presented his work on H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu. By infecting ferrets with different altered strains of the virus manufactured in the laboratory, he and his colleagues discovered a form of the virus that was lethal and easily spread through the air.

Fouchier explained it took only five mutations for the virus to become extremely contagious. The ferrets infected with the new virus died. Ferrets are often used in flu virus research, experts say, because viruses multiply in these animals in ways similar to humans.   More Read