WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Researchers in a 1940s U.S.-funded study in Guatemala violated ethics by exposing individuals to sexually transmitted diseases without consent, a panel found.
The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues released its assessment Monday on the U.S. Public Health Service study in the Central American country in which vulnerable populations were unwittingly exposed to diseases.
"It is important that we accurately document this clearly unethical historical injustice. We do this to honor the victims," commission Chairwoman Amy Gutmann said in a release. "In addition, we must look to, and learn from, the past so that we can assure the public that scientific and medical research today is conducted in an ethical manner."
The commission's release did not provide the number of unsuspecting subjects in the experiments conducted from 1946 to 1948.
The Washington Post, however, said the full report indicated at least 5,500 prisoners, mental patients, soldiers and children participated in the experiments, including at least 1,300 who were exposed to sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea and chancroid. At least 83 subjects died but the commission's full report indicated a determination about how many deaths were directly caused by the experiments could not be made.
Calling research on human subjects "a sacred trust," Gutmann said participation would decline and critical research halted without public confidence.
"It is imperative that we get this right," she said.
The commission will send its report on the matter to President Obama in September.
