A controversial bird flu study has cleared the final hurdle on its long road to publication.
Dutch virologist Ron Fouchier says he's been notified the Dutch government has cleared his study for export, meaning he can submit it to the journal Science.
The study has been tied up for months after a panel of biosecurity experts in the U.S. said the Fouchier paper and a related work from an American research team contained information that shouldn't be put in the public domain.
The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity recently reversed its position on the two papers, and the U.S. government lifted its objection to publication.
On Friday, the Dutch government gave Fouchier the green light to send his paper to Science.
A spokesperson for the journal says it is too soon to say how quickly the paper can be published.
Ginger Pinholster says Science is hopeful it can synchronize publication of the Fouchier paper with the second paper, by Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Kawaoka paper has been accepted for publication by the British journal Nature.
Pinholster says the Fouchier paper still needs to undergo peer review, so a publication date cannot be predicted.
