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The virus in question is an H5N1 avian influenza strain that was genetically altered in a Dutch lab so it can pass easily between ferrets.

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That means it is likely contagious among humans for the first time, and could trigger a lethal pandemic if it emerged in nature or were set loose by terrorists, experts have said.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu is fatal in 60 percent of human cases but only 350 people have so far died from the disease largely because it cannot, yet, be transmitted between humans.

Editors from the journals Science and Nature said they were considering the U.S. government’s request.

“Editors at the journal Science are taking very seriously a request by the NSABB to publish only an abbreviated version of a research report related to a strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus,” Science editor-in-chief Bruce Alberts said in a statement.

“At the same time, however, Science has concerns about withholding potentially important public health information from responsible influenza researchers.”

Scientists could benefit from knowing about the virus because it could help speed new treatments to combat this and other related lethal forms of influenza, Alberts added.

“Many scientists within the influenza community have a bona fide need to know the details of this research in order to protect the public, especially if they currently are working with related strains of the virus,” he wrote.

“Science editors will be evaluating how best to proceed,” he added, asking for more clarification on how the government would make the information available to “all those responsible scientists who request it.”