PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 12 April 2014)

Policy Forum
The Use of Preliminary Scientific Evidence in Public Health: A Case Study of XMRV
Kumanan Wilson mail, Katherine Atkinson, Jennifer Keelan
Summary Points
:: The rapid response to XMRV as a novel pathogen has highlighted some challenges pertaining to policy making and editorial responsibilities in a policy environment influenced by the precautionary principle.
:: Once published, preliminary scientific evidence can result in rapid changes in policy and can undergo widespread dissemination via both the Internet and social media.
:: The impact on policy and the propagation of the initial scientific information may not cease if the evidence is disproven and retracted from peer-reviewed journals.
:: Regulators should consider the use of frameworks to guide the use of the precautionary principle and a separate, more flexible policy stream for precautionary policies.
:: Editors should continue to develop strategies to place preliminary scientific evidence of potential public health relevance in context for the public and for policy makers.