UN panel urges ban on making smallpox from scratch

United Nations experts on Wednesday urged global health officials to ban scientists from making the deadly smallpox virus in laboratories for fear it could fall into terrorist hands.

Smallpox, one of the deadliest diseases known, was officially eradicated in 1979 and all known samples either destroyed or sent to World Health Organization-controlled centers in Russia and the United States, where research on vaccines continues.But experts fear that advances in genetics mean it is only a matter of time before scientists are able to rebuild the virus from scratch. Smallpox is regarded as one of the most potentially lethal weapons of biological warfare.In response to the threat, an expert smallpox panel at the World Health Organization said the 192 countries meeting at an annual U.N. health summit in Geneva should agree to prohibit in-vitro synthesis of smallpox.”The committee has advised the WHO to not permit — to specifically prohibit — the synthesis of the smallpox virus. Although this is today not possible, maybe in a few years it is,” said Daniel Lavanchy, smallpox expert at the WHO.In 2002, U.S. scientists were able to fabricate the relatively simple polio virus in the laboratory, sparking a debate about “kitchen bio-warfare bugs.”Lavanchy said the smallpox virus has a longer genetic sequence, putting it out of reach of rogue scientists for now.”What about in 10 years? We don’t know. Technology is moving rapidly,” Lavanchy said.SPEED UP RESEARCHBut while it is calling for a ban on complete sequencing of smallpox, the panel wants the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decision-taking body, to allow scientists to create small segments of the virus for use in research. The panel said it would also propose to the assembly, which will debate smallpox on Friday, that it again delay implementing a 1998 call to destroy the two remaining stockpiles, held in Russia and the United States.Bio-terror fears and concerns that scientists would be unable to react in time to a surprise smallpox outbreak persuaded the panel to keep the last two known smallpox stocks, said Mike Ryan, WHO action and response director.”Clearly, there is no question that the emergence of the bio-weapon threat has raised concerns about smallpox,” he said.Although all but two WHO states say their smallpox stockpiles have been destroyed, it would be dangerous to assume there is none left anywhere, he added. (Source: Reuters Health, May 2005)