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