.
Recombinomics Commentary
December 16, 2004
WSN/33 / H9N2 As Bioweapons?
As the likelihood of WSN/33 artifact diminishes, the possibility of bioterrorism and/or bioweapons reasearch increases.
The WSN/33 sequences are in several isolates, all of which are closely related to recent avian isolates from South Korea. Mixing human WSN/33 sequences with avian sequences would be a very dangerous experiment, as would putting the sequences into pigs. There is already quite a bit of recombination and reassortment.
It is much easier to imagine such combinations tracing to a military facility than a civilian one. It will be interesting to see how this sorts out, but it is becoming increasingly deserving of serious investigation.
Media link