En esta otra noticia se destaca como pese a todos los posibles escenarios que se han estado evaluando, desde hace meses en EEUU, para la ubicacion del laboratorio de alta seguridad que sustituya al de la isla de Plum Island, aun NO SE HA REALIZADO NINGUN ANALISIS DE RIESGOS sobre las posibles consecuencias que traeria un escape estando las instalaciones en tierra firme, y en areas donde la poblacion humana, la vegetacion, la agricultura (incluye ganaderia), la fauna salvaje, etc, como dice el informe, ofrecen amplias oportunidades para que cada virus llgue a establecerse y diseminarse si logra escapar del labororio. Existen muchos ejemplos, el mas reciente, el caso del escape del virus aftoso de laboratorios en Inglaterra, el año pasado, donde estuvieron implicados el de alta seguridad de Pirbright y otros productores de vacuna antiaftosa. Las conclusiones de los estudios de aquel caso fueron concluyentes: fallas en los mecanismos de bioseguridad. El riesgo existe. Saludos,

Dra. Maria Irian Percedo Abreu Dr.C
Dra. Mayra G. Rodriguez Dr.C
Coordinadoras
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-----Original Message-----
From: FMD News
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:00:02 -0700
Subject: FMD News -- Daily Digest: Sun, 13 Jul 2008

FMD News Daily DIGEST for Sun, 13 Jul 2008

Report #2 -- Index

Heading: NBAF isn't best idea for development

Country: United States

Report Type: Unofficial Date: 2008-Jul-13

Issue: FMD control program.

Summary: The Department of Homeland Security has issued the 1,000-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, for which Athens-Clarke County remains on the short list. If you read the headlines in local media - "Risk from biolab nil, feds claim," "Government study says NBAF safe" - you'd think everything was A-OK. If you read just the executive summary of the DEIS, you'll find a paragraph that says "potential adverse effects" range from "negligible" to "moderate," while "potential beneficial effects" are "significant." But if you read the entire draft, you might be surprised to find some things you didn't know about NBAF, and question whether it's really such a great idea. Jjust a few months ago, the Government Accountability Office, investigating whether it would be safe to move foot-and-mouth disease research from a federal facility on Plum Island, N.Y., found "DHS has not conducted or commissioned any study to determine whether FMD work can be done safely on the U.S. mainland." It also found that "given that releases can occur from any biocontainment facility, an island location can provide additional protection." DHS seems to reach the same conclusion. The DEIS says "with the exception of Plum Island, each of the proposed sites resides in an area where the wildlife, vegetation, agriculture, and human populations provide ample opportunity for each of the viruses to become established and spread rapidly once released from NBAF."

Link: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/071308/opinion_2008071300538.shtml