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April 30, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Doctors Question Safety of Proposal to Study Virus"

Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) (04/30/03) P. A12; McGinley, Laurie

Some physicians are balking at a proposal to study and treat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) at the National Institute of Health's (NIH's) Clinical Center in Maryland.  Citing unknown risks to patients' health, some NIH cancer experts complain that such a plan could compromise the health of patients with impaired immune systems and of those who work at the facility.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, defended the proposal for the SARS study, saying the research center has put together extensive containment procedures to prevent the spread of the virus at the center.  But opponents like Wyndham Wilson, chief of the lymphoma section at the NIH's National Cancer Institute, assert that the Clinical Center is a "very unsafe venue" for the research because there is still much that is unknown about SARS.  Observes Wilson, "We don't know enough about the virus to run the risk of bringing it here, and potentially exposing immuno-compromised patients."

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