Donors and scientists accuse GISAID of caprice and a lack of transparency

This Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scientist was measuring the amount of H7N9 virus that has been grown and harvested in CDCs laboratory. Human infections with avian influenza (AI, or bird flu) are rare but do occur, most commonly after exposure to infected poultry (Bird-to-human spread). Limited person-to-person spread of bird flu is thought to have occurred rarely in the past, most notably with avian influenza A (H5N1). Based on this previous experience, some limited human-to-human spread of this H7N9 virus would not be surprising. Most important, however, is that this transmission not be sustained (ongoing). (Photo by: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images

IN THE past decade the rapid sharing of genetic sequences, particularly of pathogens, has begun to play a pivotal role in global public health. Such sharing is crucial in assessing the risk of new viruses, developing medical countermeasures such as vaccines, and planning an international response. Scientists, laboratories and governments routinely upload newly sequenced pathogens to global repositories. The biggest and most prominent of these databases is GISAID.

Illustration of a brain with flowers in it. The brain is formed from the liquid escaping a syringe.