|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Smallpox: WHO Executive Board Backs Retention of Virus Stocks The World Health Organization’s executive board recommended yesterday that existing smallpox virus stocks not be destroyed in light of growing fears of bioterrorism, the Associated Press reported. The recommendation marked a policy reversal for the board, which previously set a deadline of 2002 for destruction of virus stocks. The board set no new target for the stocks’ destruction, but called for a report on progress within the next “two to three years” (Clare Nullis, Associated Press, Jan. 17). The decision follows recommendations by a committee of experts and WHO Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland, who called for the stocks to be retained in order to continue research into better vaccines and treatment. The WHO had suggested in 1999 that the remaining smallpox stocks, held at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Russia’s Vector laboratory, be destroyed this year, but following the events of Sept. 11 and heightened security concerns surrounding the threat of bioterrorism, the WHO has reversed its decision (See GSN, Jan. 14). U.S. Assistant Surgeon General Kenneth Bernard told the board that there is now a risk of smallpox being used as a weapon of terrorism in light of the recent anthrax scare. “We regard the potential release of smallpox as a critical national and international security issue,” he said. “We all know the impact of such an event would be devastating for everyone. ... A case of smallpox anywhere in the world is a case everywhere.” AP reports that the Russian delegation backed the United States, saying that more research is crucial to develop vaccines against new smallpox strains, including a vaccine by using gene technology. Only China voiced dissent, but since it does not sit on the board, it was not able to block the decision. “We believe early eradication of the virus stocks is the only fundamental guarantee of the eradication of smallpox,” said Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Sha Zukang. “No one can guarantee that the stocks won’t be released,” he added. “If that were to happen, mankind would be faced with a most devastating biological catastrophe. ... The final date for destruction should be determined and there should be no excuse for continued delay” (Nullis, Associated Press). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the development is good news for the CDC, which has been doing research on the live virus since 1999 in high-security laboratories (M.A.J. McKenna, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jan. 18). The board’s recommendation will now be submitted to the WHO’s annual assembly, the organization’s top-policy making body, for final approval by WHO’s 191 member states in May (Reuters/Planet Ark, Jan. 18).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
