geneve, 20th January, 1984 
UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE 
DEPARTEMENT DE BIOCHIMIE MEDICALE 
CENTRE MEDICAL UNIVER3ITAIRE 
9, avenue de Champel 
1211 Gendve 4 
T6I. (022) 47 33 00 
Llgne directe ? 7 . Q 1 4 9 
T6lex 421 330 emu ch 
Dear Dr. Krause, 
I understand from a recent discussion with Dr. Milewski that, 
in the course of its last session, the RAC rediscussed the 
containment conditions for cloning the genes of Shiga toxin 
and Shiga-like toxin, and that it concluded that conditions 
lower than the P4 conditions previously set would now seem 
to be appropriate. 
Because this decision was not reached by an overwhelming 
majority, you may feel that it is premature to lower the 
containment conditions for this type of experiment. 
Although as a non-American, I hesitate to advance for your 
consideration arguments pertinant to this case, I now feel 
obliged to do so as a result of the considerable impediment 
to my work that has resulted from the original RAC decision, 
and from the decision of the equivalent commission in 
Switzerland to follow precisely the NIH guidelines. 
I should therefore like to draw three points to your atten- 
tion. Firstly, an ad hoc committee of medical microbiologists 
specifically constituted in Switzerland to evaluate the 
possible danger of cloning in E . coli K-12 the gene for Shiga 
toxin, concluded that the experiment represented no greater 
danger than did work on Shigella itself and, as a result, 
recommended P2/EK1 containment conditions (see enclosed 
letter) . A different committee of medical microbiologists 
set up for the same purpose in Western Germany arrived at 
precisely the same conclusion (see enclosure) . 
Dr. Krause 
Director 
National Institute of Allergy 
and Infectious Diseases 
[619] 
