Griffith Law School PhD candidate Michelle Rourke has been awarded a 2017 Fulbright Scholarship to further her research on the commodification of viruses.
Captain Rourke, a scientific research officer with the Australian Defence Force, will spend 10 months with the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, Washington DC.
“Viruses pose the greatest infectious disease risk to global health due to their ability to rapidly mutate, jump host species and evade vaccines and drug treatments,’’ she said.
“It is essential that scientists have access to virus samples so they can conduct lifesaving research.
“But there’s been a shift in the way international law treats viruses. They used to be part of the sharing economy but are now regarded as tradeable commodities.”
This is causing major threats to global health because some developing countries have not been willing to share their viruses.
“In 2007 for example, Indonesia claimed sovereignty over pandemic influenza viruses
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