E-Letter responses to:

editorial: Donald Kennedy Scientific Exchange: Storm Rising? Science 2003; 301: 437 [Summary] [PDF]

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Untitled

William B. Greenough, III, M.D.   (5 September 2003)

Untitled 5 September 2003
William B. Greenough, III, M.D., Professor of Medicine Johns Hopkins University Respond to this E-Letter: Re: this article	I very much appreciated your superb editorial “Scientific Exchange: Storm Rising” in Science Vol 301, 25 July 2003. For at least a year, I have been deeply concerned by cases of students and faculty who have been under assault or restricted in their ability to function by the current security and/or visa regulations. Of greatest concern to me currently is the indictment of Dr. Thomas C. Butler for his work on human plague. The Committee on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences has recently taken up his case. Although he may have violated current regulations concerning the transfer of clinical specimens, he was following procedures which we all have used safely for many years. His intent was to complete a clinical trial which showed that a single oral daily dose of doxycycline was as effective as an injection (with all its hazards in the developing world) of a more toxic agent. Clearly his intent was to protect all of us. He has been indicted and his trial is scheduled for October 6th in Texas. I and his colleagues greatly respect his work and integrity. We will do everything possible to defend him and hope that other organizations to which he belongs will stand up for him. The treatment of Dr. Butler casts a chill on all who do international health research. A lead article in The Lancet concerns the basic science done on SARS (1). No U.S. investigators or institutions were able to participate because of the difficulty of moving clinical samples to U.S. laboratories at CDC and other U.S. laboratories under the current constraints. We are in the process of rapidly destroying our country’s capacity to do science both locally and internationally. Our brightest and best young scientists see Canada or Europe or Asia as more compatible with the free exchange needed for scientific progress. Clearly the current political climate, secrecy, and new laws are placing us all at risk. If not corrected soon the U.S. will be relegated to increasing irrelevance in critical areas of science. (1) Kuiken T, Fouchier RAM, Schutten M, Rimmelzwaan GF, van Amerongen G, van Doornum G, Osterhaus ADME, van Riel D, Laman JD, de Jong T. Articles: Newly discovered coronavirus as the primary cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The Lancet. Vol 362. July 26, 2003, pp 263- 270.