A prestigious international group of scientists has called for a limit on the creation of potential pandemic pathogens (PPPs).

A prestigious international group of scientists has called for a limit on the creation of potential pandemic pathogens (PPPs). The scientists, calling themselves the Cambridge Working Group (CWG), drafted a statement earlier this month warning of “fallibility” of even the safest virology laboratories:

“Recent incidents involving smallpox, anthrax and bird flu in some of the top US laboratories remind us of the fallibility of even the most secure laboratories, reinforcing the urgent need for a thorough reassessment of biosafety.”

In the past two months three separate incidents have occurred in the US alone, involving smallpox, anthrax and avian influenza.

The CWG suggested PPP researchers convene and establish stricter guidelines, just as in the Asilomar process:

“A modern version of the Asilomar process, which engaged scientists in proposing rules to manage research on recombinant DNA, could be a starting point to identify the best approaches to achieve the global public health goals of defeating pandemic disease and assuring the highest level of safety.”

Many more academics, including three Nobel laureates, have signed the CWG statement since its publication on the 14^th. 

Top scientists call for restrictions on creation of potential pandemic pathogens
Xavier Symons
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