Mutant-flu researchers appeal Dutch court ruling on export permits

[Gert van der Hoek]

Dutch Fight Over H5N1 Export Rules Moves to Court of Appeal

4 November 2013

AMSTERDAM—The legal battle between Ron Fouchier and the Dutch government over the publication of controversial research on the H5N1 avian influenza virus is set to continue. On Friday, Fouchier’s employer, Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, formally appealed a ruling by a Dutch court that the government was within its rights when it put limits on Fouchier’s freedom to publish his work with the virus.

Meanwhile, the European Society for Virology (ESV) has sided with Fouchier on the issue. In a letter to José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, ESV President Giorgio Palù warns that “this Dutch ruling may have far-stretching implications for research and public and animal health within all EU Member States.”

Science Insider


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NATURE NEWS BLOG

Mutant-flu researchers appeal Dutch court ruling on export permits

01 Nov 2013 | 12:41 GMT | Posted by Declan Butler |

The Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where researchers led by Ron Fouchier created mammalian-transmissible strains of the H5N1 avian flu virus, this week appealed a September court ruling obliging it to request an export permit before submitting such research for publication.