BBC News - Ebola: Call for more sharing of scientific data

abernard102@gmail.com 2015-02-04

Summary:

"Ebola is an international emergency so why isn't more data on the virus being made public? asks Helen Briggs. The devastation left by the Ebola virus in west Africa raises many questions for science, policy and international development. One issue that has yet to receive widespread media attention is the handling of genetic data on the virus. By studying its code, scientists can trace how Ebola leapt across borders, and how, like all viruses, it is constantly evolving and changing. A world leading tropical disease expert told me last year that he had concerns about why so little genetic data about the virus was being released.

In the last few days, scientists have been speaking on and off the record about their concerns.  One researcher said few teams working on the virus had been prepared to share valuable information that could have helped in the quest for knowledge.  Another scientist told me that governments had not put enough pressure on research teams to release data that could help other scientists make medical discoveries ..."

Link:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31091816

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.comment oa.public_health oa.data oa.biomedicine oa.pharma oa.policies oa.government

Date tagged:

02/04/2015, 08:16

Date published:

02/04/2015, 03:16