Pubdate: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2000 The Toronto Star Contact: One Yonge St., Toronto ON, M5E 1E6 Fax: (416) 869-4322 Website: http://www.thestar.com/ Forum: http://www.thestar.com/editorial/disc_board/ Page: A14 Author: Tim Johnson, Special to The Star; Miami Herald U.S. COULD FIGHT DRUG WAR WITH KILLER FUNGUS U.N. Urged To Start Tests On Colombia's Jungle Coca Crop BOGOTA, Colombia -- On a tropical Hawaiian island, a killer fungus once ravaged a field of coca bushes that Coca-Cola hoped would provide flavouring for its soft drinks. The plague in the 1970s ruined Coca-Cola's plan to buy coca outside the Andean region. But it excited counter-drug experts in Washington, who later spent millions of dollars, some of it secretly, on a quest for a biological weapon to destroy the Andean bushes fuelling the cocaine trade. Now, under prodding from Washington, a United Nations agency wants to test the laboratory-grown fungus on a small plot in Colombia, where much of the world's coca is grown. The proposal has whipped up a minor tempest. Opponents say the fungus might be toxic to farmers and wreak havoc on jungles that are treasures of biodiversity. Advocates say the fungus may be a "silver bullet" that kills coca plants and leaves other plants unaffected. "Our experts tell us that it is worth trying," said Klaus Nyholm, director of the U.N. Drug Control Program's office in Colombia and Ecuador. U.S. scientists say they don't know yet whether the fungus would safely kill the nearly 150,000 hectares of coca grown in Colombia without affecting other flora, or even human life. "The tests show so far that it is a reasonably good control agent. But I wouldn't extrapolate from that that it will work in Colombia," said Eric Rosenquist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Research Service in Maryland. "The ecology is different. There are competing organisms." Colombian Senator U.S. counter-drug experts, though, cite compelling reasons to experiment further with the fungus, fusarium oxysporum, which is considered a plant pathogen, or mycoherbicide. They say the fungus can be attached to seeds and dropped from high altitude. That beats the current strategy, in which U.S.-financed crop dusters buzz illegal coca fields at 45 metres or so. Gunmen have hit spray planes 36 times so far this year, U.S. officials say. Moreover, planes could fly at night to drop the fungus, using sensors to target coca fields. "It looks incredibly promising," said Richard Baum, a policy analyst at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "However, we are waiting for the results of tests, and will proceed only if the scientists working with the government of Colombia tell us that mycoherbicides are safe." While aides to Colombian President Andres Pastrana have reportedly expressed a "keen interest" to the U.N. agency to test the fungus, Environment Minister Juan Mayr is adamantly opposed. "I told them, 'Gentlemen, your project is not welcome,' " Mayr said. Last year, amid an outcry from environmentalists and ranchers, the state of Florida shelved a plan to test another strain of fusarium oxysporum against illegal marijuana crops. "If it's bad for Florida, why is it good for us?" said Senator Rafael Orduz, who called a hearing on the plan to test the fungus in early June. For most of the last decade, the U.S. government has used chemical herbicides against coca plants in Colombia, fighting a losing battle. A hunt for a biological alternative to chemical herbicides against coca began in earnest in 1987, with secret U.S. funding and classified research. The research quickly focused on the fungus which was identified through DNA testing as the cause of the wilt in Hawaii a decade earlier. U.N. Official Coca-Cola has relied on the coca leaf for flavouring since 1905, according to Rafael Fernandez, a company spokesperson. But the cocaine content is taken out under a process controlled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The focus on the fungus gained new impetus between 1990 and 1992, when an outbreak hit Peru's Upper Huallaga Valley, its largest source of coca. The fungus wilted tens of thousands of hectares of coca. As Washington's interest in the fungus grew, U.S. scientists tested it to see whether it would target only coca - or harm other plants as well. "Over 100 plant species have been tested for susceptibility to this pathogen. None have been adversely affected," said a report released last month from U.S. drug expert Barry McCaffrey's office. The fungus is among the most common on Earth. Hundreds of strains exist, each attacking a specific plant. Virtually all cultivated plants have a fusarium specific to it. Proposed use of the fungus has generated cries of alarm from concerned lay people over what they view as experimental biowarfare. Some fear the fungus could mutate and threaten Colombia's delicate Amazon region, one of the most diverse regions on Earth, or release toxins that could sicken humans with weak immune systems. Legal concerns have also arisen over the proposed testing. Orduz, the Colombian senator, said he is unhappy with clauses in the U.N. proposal that make Colombia's government liable should any problems arise during testing, while it forgoes any intellectual right to the results. "The feeling I get from our contacts is that the Colombians feel that this is politically - well, not dangerous - but sensitive," said Nyholm, the U.N. agency director. - ---