Intellectual property or just sheer stupidity?

We learn from Time Magazine, via DailyKos, that scientists at the WHO are keeping genetic information on bird flu strains secret because it is considered the property of the countries, and presumably the scientists, that collected it.

More importantly, the article touches on an increasingly controversial question in the world of influenza research: should the genetic sequences of H5N1 viruses, most of which are currently circulated only within a small group of scientists connected to the WHO and CDC, be posted publicly for all to see?

It should be a no-brainer—the more scientists allowed to look at the H5N1 sequences, the thinking goes, the more likely someone will generate a fresh insight. But as is often the case with bird flu, politics are at least as important as public health. The WHO says that the sequences are the property of the member states that supply them—in this case Indonesia—and if those countries want the data kept confidential, there's nothing the UN body can do.

In the grand tradition of capitalism and free markets, I say let the best multinational company win the prize. Whoever gets there first should be able to patent the vaccine, restrict it's supply on the market, price it through the roof, and walk away with the profits. To hell with the millions of people who might have been saved if they had received the vaccine. Profits make the world go around. Keep the info secret and profit from it guys. Good going.