Sir

The headline and photographs of your News story “Deadly flu virus can be sent through the mail” (Nature 438, 134–135; 2005) are misleading with respect to the policy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding the transfer and use of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus. They could give the erroneous impression that the virus will be made widely available and sent through the regular US mail.

The CDC has not yet received any requests to work with the 1918 virus at a non-CDC facility and I have made it clear we currently have no plans to send the virus anywhere. Any requests we do receive will be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account scientific merit, biosafety and biosecurity concerns, as well as any additional standards deemed appropriate for this particular virus.

The CDC is the only agency that currently possesses this virus, and we have a special responsibility to balance the importance of scientific progress and collaboration with the moral and scientific imperatives of biosafety and biosecurity.