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Smallpox Virus Should Be Preserved, Russian Scientist Says
Russia’s stockpile of smallpox virus should be preserved for at least the next decade, a senior Russian scientist told Reuters last week (see GSN, March 18, 2002). Basic research on the virus could be completed “in the next 10 or 15 years,” said Sergei Netesov, deputy general director of Russia’s Vector laboratory. His facility and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention are the only two known sites where the virus is stored. The Vector site safeguards 120 strains of the virus still being studied by Russian scientists, according to Reuters. To enable continuing research, Netesov said security at the Russian facility was critically important. “The threat we need to worry about most is theft,” he said. “The system of selecting people has to be very thorough,” he added. Netesov said Vector staff typically earn $200 to $300 a month, several times higher than the Russian average wage. Staff must be trained in bioethics, and the two tiers of security checks are extremely thorough, according to Netesov. “The weakest link is human beings,” he said. “We have to check a person very closely before we trust him,” he added (Mark Trevelyan, Reuters/PlanetArk, Feb 20).
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