An author received a manuscript describing the biological behaviour of an infectious agent in an animal model. The manuscript contained new information, but the experimental procedure involved interventions that would not be permitted by UK Home Office regulations. What should the editor do?
_ Use of material from old data could be permitted. _ The committee agreed that this was a difficult area because there is currently no international convention that applies to all countries. _ It was suggested that the article could be published with an editorial that could potentially stimulate further discussion (unless the details of the experiment were particularly gruesome). _ It was agreed that a debate on this subject was well overdue
The details of the experiment were “particularly gruesome” which meant that the validity of the data as a model for human disease was questionable. The editor intends publishing an editorial comment relating to submissions in general, possibly in the form of a review article on some aspect of good animal practice, with an accompanying editorial.