Gati Noble Selasi, Altinok Ozan Altan, Kumar Sriram, Ferrando Verónica A, Kurtz Joachim, Quante Michael, Ludwig Stephan, Mellmann Alexander
Institute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Department of Philosophy, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Evol Med Public Health. 2021 Oct 26;9(1):383-392. doi: 10.1093/emph/eoab034. eCollection 2021.
Research in infection biology aims to understand the complex nature of host-pathogen interactions. While this knowledge facilitates strategies for preventing and treating diseases, it can also be intentionally misused to cause harm. Such dual-use risk is potentially high for highly pathogenic microbes such as Risk Group-3 (RG3) bacteria and RG4 viruses, which could be used in bioterrorism attacks. However, other pathogens such as influenza virus (IV) and enterohemorrhagic (EHEC), usually classified as RG2 pathogens, also demonstrate high dual-use risk. As the currently approved therapeutics against these pathogens are not satisfactorily effective, previous outbreaks of these pathogens caused enormous public fear, media attention and economic burden. In this interdisciplinary review, we summarize the current perspectives of dual-use research on IV and EHEC, and further highlight the dual-use risk associated with evolutionary experiments with these infectious pathogens. We support the need to carry out experiments pertaining to pathogen evolution, including to gain predictive insights on their evolutionary trajectories, which cannot be otherwise achieved with stand-alone theoretical models and epidemiological data. However, we also advocate for increased awareness and assessment strategies to better quantify the risks-versus-benefits associated with such evolutionary experiments. In addition to building public trust in dual-use research, we propose that these approaches can be extended to other pathogens currently classified as low risk, but bearing high dual-use potential, given the particular pressing nature of their rapid evolutionary potential.
感染生物学的研究旨在了解宿主与病原体相互作用的复杂本质。虽然这些知识有助于制定预防和治疗疾病的策略，但也可能被故意滥用而造成危害。对于高致病性微生物，如风险组3（RG3）细菌和RG4病毒，这种两用风险可能很高，它们可用于生物恐怖袭击。然而，其他病原体，如流感病毒（IV）和肠出血性大肠杆菌（EHEC），通常被归类为RG2病原体，也显示出很高的两用风险。由于目前批准的针对这些病原体的治疗方法效果并不理想，以前这些病原体的爆发引起了公众的巨大恐慌、媒体关注和经济负担。在这篇跨学科综述中，我们总结了关于流感病毒和肠出血性大肠杆菌两用研究的当前观点，并进一步强调了与这些传染性病原体进化实验相关的两用风险。我们支持开展与病原体进化相关的实验，包括对其进化轨迹获得预测性见解，这是单独的理论模型和流行病学数据无法实现的。然而，我们也主张提高认识和评估策略，以更好地量化与此类进化实验相关的风险与收益。除了建立公众对两用研究的信任外，鉴于其快速进化潜力的特殊紧迫性，我们建议这些方法可扩展到目前被归类为低风险但具有高两用潜力的其他病原体。
