Meeting participants discuss HHS framework for funding H5N1 avian influenza research

CIDRAP News reports on a two-day meeting at the National Institutes of Health during which "researchers, biosecurity experts, and others" discussed the "crafting [of] a framework for funding H5N1 avian influenza gain-of-function studies." The meeting "is the latest chapter in an intense scientific controversy that was triggered by the publication of two recent studies involving lab-engineered H5N1 strains that showed signs of being transmissible in mammals," according to the news service. "The global scientific community is closely watching the framework discussions, because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is one of the world's biggest funders of H5N1 research, including the two studies that sparked the controversy," CIDRAP writes, adding, "Studies on H5N1 are considered a key pandemic preparedness step, and research findings have been used to help governments guide the development of vaccine and antiviral countermeasures." According to the news service, "The HHS will post a summary and video of the meeting at a later date for those who weren't able to attend, and it is encouraging people to submit written comments by Jan 10, 2013" (Schnirring, 12/17).