Not Going Viral: Around this time last year, scientists were just beginning to thaw from a chilling moratorium on flu research. The controversy began in late December 2011, when the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity recommended the results of that research into especially deadly bird flu strain not be published in their entirety. The board, which has no authority to enforce its recommendation, was concerned the full work might provide bioterrorists the instructions for creating a deadly pandemic.
The censorship generated plenty of conversation, including those who said the usefulness of making viruses deadly didn’t outweigh the risk. Others championed the surveillance benefits of such research in early pandemic response and said it should resume immediately.
Flu in the Coop: Although terrorism didn’t play a part, a new and especially deadly strain of bird has developed in China. The strain, H7N9, has infected at least 127 people and killed 27, according to Reuters. Because it’s more easily transmitted to humans than other strains, the World Health Organization has dubbed it one of the most lethal flu strains of its kind and warned that it could easily become a pandemic.
"The longer the virus is unchecked in circulation, the higher the probability that this virus will start transmitting from person to person," Colin Butte, an expert in avian viruses at Britain's Pirbright Institute, told Reuters.
At the moment, scientists only have evidence of the disease being transmitted from poultry—likely chickens—to humans.
Coming Home (and Other Places) to Roost: Although only one case of H7N9 exists outside China—a man in Taiwan contracted it while traveling—European scientists said Thursday that they expect the disease would soon be seen in Europe, as well, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, a Chinese shut down of live poultry markets seems to have at least slowed transmission of the virus, according to Bloomberg News. While scientists believe the reprieve is temporary, it does buy some time.
“It looks like the human infections can be reduced with temporary management of the markets, but this isn’t a long-term solution,” Richard Webby, director of a WHO flu research center in Memphis. “The biggest question is still where the main reservoir of this virus is.”