WHA Gives Yellow Light for Variola Studies.

The article reports that proponents of further research with variola, the virus that causes smallpox, won approval at the World Health Assembly to expand the scope of the studies. At the meeting, the 192 member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) rejected one study proposal, urged extra care with others, and questioned the composition of the panel overseeing the research. The meeting was the latest round of discussions, managed by WHO, about variola's fate. After its eradication in the 1970s, plans to destroy the last remaining virus stocks, now officially stored at only one Russian and one U.S. lab, have been postponed repeatedly to allow the development of new diagnostics, vaccines, and drugs to defend against bioterror attacks.