Outcry over creation of GM smallpox virus (Independent)

This is the great problem with eradicating viruses. It would obviously be silly not to keep samples of the virus, so that a vaccination can be prepared should the virus not have been completely irradicated, but keeping samples means that there’s always the risk that the virus will fall into the wrong hands, which means it’s only prudent to keep researching possible treatments – which leads to a greater possibility the virus will get out, or that a highly virulent strain will be developed by accident.

There’s no easy answer to the problem. But for right now, I’d be more worried about the (probable) forthcoming ‘flu pandemic than some smallpox risk. The risk of a ‘flu pandemic within just a few years killing millions is much greater than the risk of a biological attack using smallpox killing millions in the next few years.

For what it’s worth, I don’t see that introducing the jellyfish gene would be a particularly risky thing to do with this virus, and I wouldn’t be too worried about it if it did go ahead. I think Prof Donald Henderson has very good intentions in speaking out about this, and I can fully understand and sympathise with his point. However, I think that the current research should be given the go-ahead, but future research monitored extremely closely.