Indonesia Agrees to Resume Sharing Bird Flu Samples With WHO

Mar 28, 04:49 AM

Current Headlines: Text of report in English by Indonesian news agency Antara website

Jakarta (ANTARA News) -Indonesia agreed on Tuesday to resume sharing bird flu virus samples with the World Health Organization for tests aimed at fighting the disease.

"We are going to send the virus samples immediately," said Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari.

The breakthrough came at a WHO meeting here after the world body agreed to develop a new mechanism on sample-sharing that would be fairer for poorer nations, the minister was quoted by AFP as saying.

"This is now more fair and transparent. The WHO will improve the mechanism," she said.

Indonesia said in February that it had stopped sending samples to WHO reference laboratories because it was worried drugs firms would exploit them to develop costly vaccines.

The move raised questions about a 50-year-old system of sample- sharing said to be key to fighting human flu.

The minister said under the new mechanism, drugs firms would have to negotiate with the country producing the sample.

The WHO says the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has infected 281 people and killed 169 of them, mostly in Southeast Asia.

Scientists worry the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily spread among humans, leading to a global pandemic with the potential to kill millions.

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