Pause on Avian Flu Transmission Research

The continuous threat of an influenza pandemic represents one of the biggest challenges in public health. Influenza pandemics are known to be caused by viruses that evolve from animal reservoirs, such as in birds and pigs, and can acquire genetic changes that increase their ability to transmit in humans. Pandemic preparedness plans have been implemented worldwide to mitigate the impact of influenza pandemics. A major obstacle in preventing influenza pandemics is that little is known regarding what makes an influenza virus transmissible in humans. As a consequence, the potential pandemic risk associated with the many different influenza viruses of animals cannot be assessed with any certainty. Recent research breakthroughs identified specific determinants of transmission of H5N1 influenza viruses in ferrets. Responsible research on influenza virus transmission Pause on Avian Flu Transmission Research Ron A. M. Fouchier,* Adolfo García-Sastre, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Wendy S. Barclay, Nicole M. Bouvier, Ian H. Brown, Ilaria Capua, Hualan Chen, Richard W. Compans, Robert B. Couch, Nancy J. Cox, Peter C. Doherty, Ruben O. Donis, Heinz Feldmann, Yi Guan, Jaqueline Katz, H. D. Klenk, Gary Kobinger, Jinhua Liu, Xiufan Liu, Anice Lowen, Thomas C. Mettenleiter, Albert D. M. E. Osterhaus, Peter Palese, J. S. Malik Peiris, Daniel R. Perez, Jürgen A. Richt, Stacey Schultz-Cherry, John Steel, Kanta Subbarao, David E. Swayne, Toru Takimoto, Masato Tashiro, Jeffery K. Taubenberger, Paul G. Thomas, Ralph A. Tripp, Terrence M. Tumpey, Richard J. Webby , Robert G. Webster Department of Virology, Erasmus MC, 3000CA Rotterdam, 3015GE Rotterdam, Netherlands. Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53711, USA. Department of Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK. Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. Virology Department, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Addlestone, KT15, UK. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020, Padova, Italy. Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, CAAS, Harbin 150001, China. Influenza Pathogenesis and Immunology Research Center, Emory University, School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Influenza Division, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis TN 38105, USA. Molecular Virology and Vaccines Branch, Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. Laboratory of Virology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. Immunology and Pathogenesis Branch, Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. Institut für Virologie, 35043 Marburg, Germany. National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3R2, Canada. Department of Preventative Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. FriedrichLoeffler-Institut, D-17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany. Department of Virology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA. Department of Microbiology and HKU-Pasteur Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA. College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University, School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Emerging Respiratory Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Imfectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-3203, USA. Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Athens, GA 30605, USA. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Influenza Virus Research Center, Tokyo, 208-001, Japan. Viral Pathogenesis and Evolution Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-3203 USA. Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105-3678, USA. Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105-3678, USA. Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.