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FNC senior medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel on the research into the bird flu and why the U.S. government does not want the details published.
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The federal government is taking the unprecedented step of -- asking scientists to -- a key parts of their lab work that created a highly infectious strain of bird flu the researchers say.
They want to study how the virus changes so they won't know the sizeable deadly strain is developing bop and government watchdog.
Is warning the publishing their findings could potentially allow terrorists.
To recreate that virus and of course use it for -- -- -- tell us more about -- daily new virus we welcome doctor Marc Siegel Fox News senior medical contributor and author of the book the -- pulse unlocking the secret code of sickness.
And in health and we should also amazed that doctor Siegel.
Has also written to on the books on this very topic one entitled bird flu and the other up full salaam the truth about the epidemic of fear about the -- to welcome to you would want to -- what order -- it won't very good thank you this is uninteresting story one obviously a very qualified to address.
Why -- and why are they making this super strain of bird flu in the first place.
Because the H five N one bird flu that's been around about fifteen years and has killed millions of birds and is very deadly when -- gets to human.
It killed over 300 of the 500 or so humans who have gotten -- the times scientists have always said.
What is the change.
In awarded it to go easily human to human we know -- -- -- but it humans can't really get it what -- that went easily human to human.
Before this some of the top -- research and some of whom I know personally worked in the laboratory.
Trying to get this virus to change.
So that they can either -- -- -- assure themselves that it wouldn't do it.
Or say watch out it may do it in here -- the steps we could predict its going to do it up until now they've never been able to get this to happen this is unprecedented.
That they got a virus through three or four mutations that's now able to pass easily.
Actually from -- to ferret and I human to human -- a rodent is a model for how humans will respond to -- it's very close to humans.
Interest thing.
Bad news for the -- Interest ahead news for the ferrets.
So this was discovered in two places the lives and a hello in the Netherlands in Holland and also in Wisconsin's were they working independently of the children absolutely although they -- -- communication without good and and oftentimes scientific discoveries occurred this where.
But it's -- -- a very fascinating question the national science advisory board is talking to the publication science and -- saying we don't want this road map published.
That's why it's obvious -- obvious reasons that terrorists might get this and scientists have traditionally held their back up against things like this it's almost like -- First Amendment issue we want to be able to publish whatever we discover.
However.
The science science editor saying maybe in this case -- put out an abbreviated version.
A withhold the roadmap to how to build this virus and I'll let only certain scientists have it.
Who may actually use the information to create cures or to predict the next pandemic is that censorship -- is that -- I think that that's Smart.
Quote of course actually you and I were talking before we came on yeah how you can build a nuclear weapon over the Internet economy -- -- -- so looking at on the into the theaters but I don't wanna add to that so I think it's Smart I think this information should be out there.
I think that this research cash to be done.
For the reasons that we need to understand more about the flow of our because they want to be able to recognize if this particular strain is mutating in the same way they -- to.
-- to do inside the -- so they can get ahead of it.
And we may be able to get ahead of it by treating it before it changes there's a lot of important information -- interest -- that we can do here to prevent what we call -- -- we don't -- transmitting from human to human they can come up the treatments for the mutated.
Strain is that right that's right.
So that that's right this research is unprecedented and it's giving us information on -- we never had before we should be glad about that.
But I agree with this unprecedented move that sounds like censorship this is what government actually should be doing.
Being careful especially in an age of terrorism.
To make sure that secrets like this don't get out if possible is a bird flu still out there is -- still a threat it still killing millions of birds were still having to kill birds to prevent spread was still vaccinated invest profit margins from birds to humans but not by human to human it's transmitted from bird to bird like wild -- -- -- human rarely.
Even the even in Asia where people carry birds around there were birds are in the streets -- it rarely infects human beings but when it does it's usually deadly.
There interest things are I don't want it to spread easily now absolutely not -- -- to boxing -- as always thank you some Britain's international bridge.
