A WORLD Health Organization advisory committee has decided in principle to allow the genetic modification of the smallpox virus. It will not say who is proposing such experiments but it is almost certainly a US team. The only remaining smallpox stocks are in the US and Russia.
鈥淭his is all aimed at finding better drugs and vaccines,鈥� says Geoffrey Smith of Imperial College London, who chaired the committee meeting. Critics, including D. A. Henderson of the University of Pittsburgh, who led the drive to eradicate smallpox, say the planned experiments are pointless and dangerous.
They include transplanting genes from the deadly smallpox virus into related viruses. The idea is to test potential drugs that target a particular enzyme in viruses producing the smallpox version of that enzyme. The transplanted genes must not alter the biology of the host virus, the committee has stipulated. But how do you know in advance, asks Henderson. He says there could be unsuspected risks.
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鈥淗ow do you know in advance the viruses will be safe? There could be unsuspected risks鈥�
Because smallpox has been eradicated, it is impossible to test potential drugs in people, Henderson points out. 鈥淎nd no one is going to spend the billions of dollars it will take to develop and stockpile new drugs and vaccines.鈥�
