Robert G. (Rob) Webster (born May 7, 1932), in Balclutha New Zealand, is the virologist who in 1957 was the first to announce a link between human flu and bird flu. He correctly posited that pandemic strains of flu arise via a reassortment of genetic segments (antigenic shift) between viruses in humans and lower animals (especially birds), and not by mutations (antigenic drift) in annual strains. ^[1] May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Balclutha may refer to: Balclutha, a town in the Otago region of New Zealand. ... Virology is the study of viruses and their properties. ... Human Flu refers to a subset of Orthomyxoviridae that create influenza in humans and are endemic in humans. ... Avian influenza (also known as bird flu) is a type of influenza virulent in birds. ... A pandemic (from Greek pan all + demos people) is an epidemic (an outbreak of an infectious disease) that spreads worldwide, or at least across a large region. ... Respiratory disease properly named influenza(say: in-floo-en-zah ). Some specific varities of influenza with a vaccination available are: A-New Caledonia, A-California, B-Shanghai. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Antigenic shift is the process by which two different strains of influenza combine to form a new subtype having a mixture of the surface antigens of the two original strains. ... Groups I: dsDNA viruses II: ssDNA viruses III: dsRNA viruses IV: (+)ssRNA viruses V: (-)ssRNA viruses VI: ssRNA-RT viruses VII: dsDNA-RT viruses A virus (Latin, poison) is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of a biological organism. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... In biology, mutations are changes to the genetic material (usually DNA or RNA). ... Antigenic drift refers to mutations in the influenza virus over time. ...

Background

Robert Webster grew up on a New Zealand farm^[2], and studied microbiology on leaving school, gaining his BSc from University of Otago, New Zealand in 1955, his MSc at the same university in 1957, and his PhD from the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, in 1962. BSC is an abbreviation for: Science and technology Bachelor of Science (usually written BSc), an academic science degree Base Station Controller, a subsystem in a GSM mobile phone network Binary symmetric channel in coding theory Binary Synchronous Communications, a data link protocol developed by IBM in the 1960s Basic Spacing... The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealands oldest university with over 20,000 student enrolled during 2006. ... MSC can stand for: Marine Stewardship Council Masters of Science (usually MSc or M.Sc. ... PhD usually refers to the academic title Doctor of Philosophy PhD can also refer to the manga Phantasy Degree This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... The Australian National University (ANU), is a university located in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ...

He worked as a virologist with the New Zealand Department of Agriculture in 1958 - 1959 before being appointed Research Fellow at the Department of Microbiology at ANU's John Curtain Medical School, for 1964 - 1966. He moved to USA in 1969 where he became a member of both the Department of Microbiology and the Department of Immunology at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, a city where he has lived ever since and has held many research posts. St Jude Childrens Research Hospital is a world class hospital and medical research facility in Memphis Tennessee. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The River City, The Bluff City, M-Town Location Location in Shelby County and the state of Tennessee Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Tennessee Shelby County Mayor W. W. Herenton (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 294. ...

Accomplishments

Robert G. Webster holds the Rose Marie Thomas Chair in Virology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He is also director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on the Ecology of Influenza Viruses in Lower Animals and Birds, the world's only laboratory designed to study influenza at the animal-human interface. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal Society of New Zealand, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. In December 2002, he was presented with the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Infectious Diseases Research. ^[3]

Webster has been awarded membership of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, and the honour of fellow of both the Royal Societies of New Zealand and London. Other memberships he enjoys are of the American Society for Microbiology, American Society for Virology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as being a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. He also heads the World Health Organisation (WHO) collaborating laboratory on animal influenza. President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The American Society for Microbiology is a scientific organization, based in the United States although with over 42,000 members throughout the world. ... The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an organization that promotes cooperation between scientists, defends scientific freedom, encourages scientific responsibility and supports scientific education for the betterment of all humanity. ... For other meanings of the acronym WHO, see WHO (disambiguation) WHO flag Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization (WHO) is an agency of the United Nations, acting as a coordinating authority on international public health. ...

Work on general influenza

Webster's major discoveries relating to influenza include the likelihood that avians were most likely the culprit in other flu outbreaks. His work is also responsible for the method of human influenza vaccination that is commonly used. Before Webster and his colleagues separated the influenza virus into different particles, the entire influenza virus was injected into a patient as a vaccine - now, only certain parts of the virus are necessary to create the same response, lessening side effects of the vaccine. ^[4]

H5N1 Work

Webster's work with the avian flu can be said to have sprung from a beach walk with fellow researcher Graeme Laver, on which the men noticed a large number of birds dead along the shoreline. Webster wondered whether it was possible that the birds had died from the avian flu, and subsequently traveled to an island to take samples from hundreds of birds. This led to more trips, and eventually Webster discovered a link between the avian flu and the human flu. This link meant one thing to Webster: that it is possible for the avian and human viruses to combine, creating a new virus that humans would have no antibodies to. ^[5] In an interview with NBC, he said that when he first reestablished there was a link, few paid attention to what he saw as a great danger. He was quoted as recalling that "The veterinarians said, 'Not a problem.' The medical people said, 'Not a problem.'" ^[6] However, Webster theorizes that the only event that has to occur to begin a flu pandemic is the mixing of avian and human flu strains in the same mammalian cell - most likely in a pig. Pigs are similar enough in genetic makeup to humans that they are susceptible to the human flu; also, in many areas, pigs come in close contact with chickens or ducks, making it likely that they will catch the avian flu. ^[7]

Another danger that Webster has uncovered is the duck. Ducks, while capable of catching and transmitting the avian flu virus through contact with chickens, seldom sicken and die from the exposure. Being alive and quite healthy, the ducks are then capable of spreading the virus to other areas. ^[8]

He "is a world-renowned virologist, an expert in the structure and function of influenza virus proteins and the development of new vaccines and antivirals. He has spent more than 50 years studying influenza, and was the first to isolate and identify [Asian lineage HPAI A(H5N1)]."^[9] Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as A(H5N1) or H5N1, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus that is capable of causing illness in many animal species, including humans. ...

Quotes

• "It's very important to do things for yourself. Scientists these days want other people to do things for them. But I think you have to be there, to be in the field, to see interactions." ^[10]

• "The duck is the Trojan horse." ^[11]

• "The transmission of H5N1 to even just a relatively few people was an ominous sign that is has the potential to adapt to humans."

Sources

1. ^ Nature
2. ^ "The Flu Hunter" Rosenwald, Michael. Smithsonian. January 2006. Page 36.
3. ^ Agonist
4. ^ "The Flu Hunter" Rosenwald, Michael. Smithsonian. January 2006. Page 36.
5. ^ "The Flu Hunter" Rosenwald, Michael. Smithsonian. January 2006. Page 36.
6. ^ Interview with NBC
7. ^ "The Flu Hunter" Rosenwald, Michael. Smithsonian. January 2006. Page 36.
8. ^ "The Flu Hunter" Rosenwald, Michael. Smithsonian. January 2006. Page 36.
9. ^ CBC News
10. ^ "The Flu Hunter" Rosenwald, Michael. Smithsonian. January 2006. Page 36.
11. ^ "The Flu Hunter" Rosenwald, Michael. Smithsonian. January 2006. Page 36.

Further reading

• The ISI CV on Dr Webster
• Transcript: Avian Influenza: Current Status and Potential Impact
• News article: Experts fear bird flue in Africa
• St. JudeRobert G. Webster, PhD - Member, St. Jude Faculty - Rose Marie Thomas Chair
• COMMITTEE ON MICROBIAL THREATS TO HEALTH IN THE 21ST CENTURY
• American Scientist short bio
• UVM Webster is Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Center on the Ecology of Influenza Viruses in Lower Animals and Birds Professor of Excellence, University of Hong-Kong
• CBC Interview

Selected publications by Robert Webster

• CDC article Influenza: An Emerging Disease published in Emerging Infectious Diseases - vol. 4 no. 3 - July September 1998
• Journal of Virology, July 2000, p. 6309-6315, Vol. 74, No. 14 article Characterization of the Influenza A Virus Gene Pool in Avian Species in Southern China: Was H6N1 a Derivative or a Precursor of H5N1?
• Science Mag article Perspectives:VIROLOGY:Enhanced: A Molecular Whodunit - in Science - 7 September 2001 - 1773-1775
• American Scientist article The world is teetering on the edge of a pandemic that could kill a large fraction of the human population in 2003
• CDC articles H5N1 Outbreaks and Enzootic Influenza published in Emerging Infectious Diseases - vol. 12 no. 01 - January 2006
• PNAS article Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: Implications for pandemic control published online before print February 10, 2006, 10.1073/pnas.0511120103 - PNAS - February 21, 2006 - vol. 103 - no. 8 - 2845-2850