WHO Director-General Questions Smallpox Advisory Committee Recommendation
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World Health Assembly to Consider Dangerous Genetic
Engineering Recommendations Beginning May 16th

The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has
raised questions about the proposal by a WHO Advisory Committee to
dramatically increase risky research with live smallpox virus. In a
paper released in mid-April (WHA A 58/10), Director General Lee
Jong-wook concludes that the Committee's recommendation to permit
insertion of smallpox genes into related viruses, such as monkeypox
and cowpox, should be rejected. The Director General was silent,
however, on the Advisory Committee's other suggestions, including the
genetic engineering of variola (smallpox) virus itself and a far
wider distribution of smallpox DNA.

According to the Sunshine Project, the Director-General's position is
notable for its recognition that the Variola Advisory Committee's
proposals have received inadequate review. "We are pleased that the
Director-General has acted to block one of the Variola Advisory
Committee's recommendations, now we need to address the others." says
Sunshine Project Director Edward Hammond, "The set of recommendations
remains substantially unreviewed by experts in public health, safety
of genetically modified organisms, and preparedness for deliberate
outbreaks of disease."

According to non-governmental organizations, both the recommendations
and the committee that produced them are problematic. The
recommendations because they will dramatically increase the risk of
an accidental or deliberate release of smallpox virus and represent
WHO endorsement of genetic engineering experiments with extremely
dangerous viruses. NGOs have criticized the Advisory Committee as
using intransparent meeting methods and as being geographically and
scientifically imbalanced. The committee is weighted towards a small
number of countries and scientists with a personal and institutional
interest in prolonging retention of and research with the otherwise
eradicated virus. Major world regions have been underrepresented or
not represented at all at committee meetings.

Says Hammond, "Ambiguous language in the report to be considered by
the WHA would, if adopted, exacerbate the problems with this runaway
committee. Rather than strengthening the hand of a failing and
politicized 'technical' mechanism, the WHA should confine the
Advisory Committee to its original mandate to be a short-term review
mechanism in a fixed time interval before virus destruction. WHA
should also follow-on the Director-General's recommendation by
clarify that the committee cannot review its own proposals because
its membership and mandate fall far short of representing the range
of relevant expertise and perspectives to set WHO policy on live
virus research."

The Sunshine Project and Third World Network, backed by an
international group of a dozen non-profits, opposes the genetic
engineering of smallpox and wants WHO to put the virus stocks back on
a fast track for destruction. (The US and Russia balked at
destruction dates in 1999 and 2002.) They have established a website,
www.smallpoxbiosafety.org, where members of the public can
send a letter to WHO and find contacts for their national
representatives at the WHA. So far, well over a thousand people from
more than sixty countries have sent letters.

The World Health Assembly will meet in Geneva, Switzerland for a week
and a half, beginning on May 16th. The smallpox virus destruction
issue is early in its agenda, and discussion of it should begin
shortly after the meeting opens. Third World Network and the
Sunshine Project will hold a briefing for WHA delegates on May 17th
at the Palais des Nations.

The Sunshine Project strongly encourages members of the public,
scientists, and non-profits to send a letter to the WHO Director
General at www.smallpoxbiosafety.org and to contact their health
ministry to urge that national government oppose the relaxation of
restrictions on smallpox virus research.

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Guess who wants to genetically engineer smallpox?

Learn more and send a letter to WHO at:
www.smallpoxbiosafety.org

Designer smallpox is a Pandora's Box
Let's not open the lid!