Controversial research is set to resume on artificially creating a new highly contagious form of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which could be spread by humans. Rebecca Morelle reports. With just a few mutations, the H5N1 virus can jump from its current form that’s lethal in birds to one that spreads among humans. But when scientists announced they’d done this in the lab, the news was met with shock. And with concerns over containment, the scientists put their research on hold. One year on though and they are ready to resume. Their labs, they claim, meet the highest safety standards and this work could help to fight the constantly evolving virus. But some researchers warn that while the risk of the pathogen escaping is small, the consequences could be catastrophic.
科学家称将重启对一种新型高传染性H5N1禽流感病毒的研究，这种病毒可以通过人际传播，此举引起广泛争议。 Rebecca Morelle报道。 H5N1病毒经过几次突变就可以从目前对鸟类致命的病毒转变为可人际传播的病毒，此前，科学家宣称将在实验室做这样的突变，这个消息令人们震惊。 考虑到控制问题，科学家们将实验暂停。 一年后他们希望能继续实验， 他们称实验室符合最高的安全标准，该研究能帮助应对这种不断演变的病毒。但有的研究者警告说，虽然病原体逃逸的危险很小，但一旦发生，后果将是灾难性的。