Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Academia collides with public health

This is not a pretty picture ...
The Doctor's World - Seeking Lessons in Swine Flu Fight - NYTimes.com
... Officials and experts say they have learned a lot about human swine influenza. But relatively little of that information, including periodic summaries of what has been learned since the beginning of the pandemic, has been reported and published. Some experts said researchers were waiting to publish in journals, which can take months or longer. Journals impose severe penalties for disclosing information before publication, although they say they exempt matters of public health importance. Whatever the reason, delays in reporting such information can hamper plans for public health responses...
So when someone dies of Swine Flu, and lawyers trace the outcomes to suppressed pre-publication, will the journals be liable?

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