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Jakarta to give H5N1 samples to WHO

Indonesia is set to resume sharing bird flu virus samples with the WHO under an interim deal that ensures they are not used for commercial purposes, the health minister said yesterday.

In a controversial move, Jakarta declared last month it had stopped sharing H5N1 samples with the WHO. The two sides then struck a deal on Feb. 16 to resume sharing samples, but under a new framework to give developing nations access to vaccines.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said a letter of guarantee from WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍) was expected to arrive yesterday, after which "Indonesia will resume sending as soon as possible."

"A guarantee signed by the director-general is strong enough," Supari told a national meeting in Jakarta on bird flu.

"WHO will send a letter which guarantees that virus samples sent by Indonesia will only be used for reassessment [diagnostic] and not for commercial purposes," she said.

"Once we get the letter. We can start sending our bird flu samples until the right mechanism is put in place," she said.

Supari said that companies that wanted samples would have to make a request directly to Jakarta.

The country hardest hit by bird flu is worried that large drug companies will use its H5N1 strain to make vaccines that will be too expensive for developing nations in the event of a global pandemic that could kill millions.

Indonesia last month signed a preliminary agreement with a unit of pharmaceutical firm Baxter International. Under the pact, the ministry's research and development institute will supply the US firm specimens of H5N1; Baxter will provide technology to help develop a vaccine.

The agreement has sparked debate in the medical community with some health and aid agencies condemning Indonesia for refusing to share samples, while others defended the stance because developing countries often struggle to get access to life-saving drugs because of patent laws and high costs.

Sharing of virus samples is crucial as it allows experts to study their make-up and map the evolution and geographical spread of any particular strain. Samples are also used to make vaccines.

Meanwhile, China's Xinhua news agency yesterday reported that a farmer in Fujian Province has been infected with the H5N1 form of bird flu, the first human case in the nation in about seven weeks.

The 44-year-old woman from Jianou City was being treated in hospital, it said.

"Tests by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the patient have confirmed that the patient has been infected with the bird flu virus strain H5N1," it said.

The Ministry of Agriculture said an investigation team it sent down to the woman's village found no trace of the virus in poultry samples.

"The initial analysis is that we cannot rule out the possibility of infection through contact with a virus-carrying wild bird," it said in a statement on its Web site.

The ministry said it was stepping up poultry vaccinations and had sealed off the woman's house and surrounding area for disinfection.
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