Argentines Report Infection by Altered Farm Virus
LEAD: Officials in Argentina have concluded that several farm workers there inadvertently became infected with a genetically altered virus that had been injectd into cattle as an experimental vaccine against rabies, according to press accounts and an American critic of the biotechnology industry.
Officials in Argentina have concluded that several farm workers there inadvertently became infected with a genetically altered virus that had been injectd into cattle as an experimental vaccine against rabies, according to press accounts and an American critic of the biotechnology industry.
Some American experts in vaccines and genetic engineering said they were skeptical of the story and said that even if the vaccine had spread to workers, their health would not be imperiled. Repeated attempts to reach a spokesman for the Government in Buenos Aires by telephone today were unsuccessful. Virus Not Dangerous
In Washington, a critic of field experiments with genetically altered organisms, Jeremy Rifkin, cited the Argentine case in petitioning Federal regulators today to require advance notice from American researchers planning such experiments in other countries. He said the incident points to potential dangers from genetic engineering and the problems associated with American researchers conducting trials overseas, sometimes to escape regulation.
According to news reports from Argentina earlier this month and information that Mr. Rifkin's group, the Foundation on Economic Trends, said it received from an interview with an Argentine health official, up to five farmhands who tended cattle inoculated with an experimental rabies vaccine became infected with the virus used. The virus, the vaccinia virus, has been used for other vaccines and poses little health danger to people. In this case, the virus had been altered to stimulate production of antibodies to rabies, in hopes it could serve as an antirabies vaccine in cattle.
Jorge Ahumada of the Health and Social Action Ministry reportedly said that antibodies apparently generated by the virus were recently detected in blood samples from farmhands. It was not clear how many workers were involved and what type of antibodies were detected.
Dr. Bernard Moss of the National Institutes of Health, a leading expert on the type of vaccine used in the Argentine test, said accidental infection with this type of vaccine is 'highly unlikely,' and should not pose a major health risk to the workers if it did occur. #1986 Experiment The vaccine was produced by taking a single gene from the surface of a rabies virus and splicing it into vaccinia. Researchers believe using only a noninfectious part of the rabies virus in the new vaccine will activate protective antibodies with fewer side effects than using the whole virus, whether it is alive or inactivated.
Dr. Moss said vaccinia vaccines, which are being tested against numerous diseases, pose no more risk of accidental infection to humans than any other live virus vaccine and probably are less risky because vaccinia is relatively benign and the genes attached to it usually are not infectious.
The experiment to test a genetically-engineered vaccine against bovine rabies was carried out in 1986 at a Pan American Health Organization research farm 185 miles south of Buenos Aires. The experiment had earlier been the subject of controversy because neither the health organization, which is based in Washington, nor the Wistar Institute of Philadelphia, which developed the vaccine, had informed the Argentine or American Governments of the test because no law required it. The Argentine Government ended the experiment and ordered the animals destroyed when the trial was disclosed.
All government-funded genetic engineering work is required to comply with National Insitutes of Health safety guidelines. However, in the Argentinian vaccine case, NIH determined last year that it did not violate the guidelines because the actual trial itself did not use Government money.  By WARREN E. LEARY WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 - Officials in Argentina have concluded that several farm workers there inadvertently became infected with a genetically altered virus that had been injectd into cattle as an experimental vaccine against rabies, according to press accounts and an American critic of the biotechnology industry.
Some American experts in vaccines and genetic engineering said they were skeptical of the story and said that even if the vaccine had spread to workers, their health would not be imperiled. Repeated attempts to reach a spokesman for the Government in Buenos Aires by telephone today were unsuccessful.
In Washington, a critic of field experiments with genetically altered organisms, Jeremy Rifkin, cited the Argentine case in petitioning Federal regulators today to require advance notice from American researchers planning such experiments in other countries. He said the incident points to potential dangers from genetic engineering and the problems associated with American researchers conducting trials overseas, sometimes to escape regulation. Virus Not Dangerous
According to news reports from Argentina earlier this month and information that Mr. Rifkin's group, the Foundation on Economic Trends, said it received from an interview with an Argentine health official, up to five farmhands who tended cattle inoculated with an experimental rabies vaccine became infected with the virus used. The virus, the vaccinia virus, has been used for other vaccines and poses little health danger to people. In this case, the virus had been altered to stimulate production of antibodies to rabies, in hopes it could serve as an antirabies vaccine in cattle.
Jorge Ahumada of the Health and Social Action Ministry reportedly said that antibodies apparently generated by the virus were recently detected in blood samples from farmhands. It was not clear how many workers were involved and what type of antibodies were detected.
Dr. Bernard Moss of the National Institutes of Health, a leading expert on the type of vaccine used in the Argentine test, said accidental infection with this type of vaccine is 'highly unlikely,' and should not pose a major health risk to the workers if it did occur. #1986 Experiment The vaccine was produced by taking a single gene from the surface of a rabies virus and splicing it into vaccinia. Researchers believe using only a noninfectious part of the rabies virus in the new vaccine will activate protective antibodies with fewer side effects than using the whole virus, whether it is alive or inactivated.
Dr. Moss said vaccinia vaccines, which are being tested against numerous diseases, pose no more risk of accidental infection to humans than any other live virus vaccine and probably are less risky because vaccinia is relatively benign and the genes attached to it usually are not infectious.
The experiment to test a genetically-engineered vaccine against bovine rabies was carried out in 1986 at a Pan American Health Organization research farm 185 miles south of Buenos Aires. The experiment had earlier been the subject of controversy because neither the health organization, which is based in Washington, nor the Wistar Institute of Philadelphia, which developed the vaccine, had informed the Argentine or American Governments of the test because no law required it. The Argentine Government ended the experiment and ordered the animals destroyed when the trial was disclosed.
All government-funded genetic engineering work is required to comply with National Insitutes of Health safety guidelines. However, in the Argentinian vaccine case, NIH determined last year that it did not violate the guidelines because the actual trial itself did not use Government money.