Indonesia to Continue Supplying Bird Flu Virus Samples to WHO

Indonesia will immediately resume supplying the World Health Organization (WHO) with viruses from its bird flu outbreak, a vital tool in producing vaccines, while the agency will seek to ensure access to commercially developed flu vaccines, WHO has announced.

"We have struck a balance between the need to continue the sharing of influenza viruses for risk assessment and for vaccine development, and the need to help ensure that developing countries benefit from sharing without compromising global public health security," WHO Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases David Heymann said after a two-day meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Indonesia, which has suffered more human bird flu fatalities than any other country, had been concerned that even though it supplied H5N1 virus samples to WHO, the resulting vaccines produced by commercial companies would likely be unavailable to developing countries.

Other attendees of the meeting included representatives from 20 countries that have had animal or human outbreaks. The meeting endorsed efforts to increase access to safe and effective pandemic flu vaccines, to develop a vaccine stockpile and to link vaccine manufacturers in developed and developing countries to speed the transfer of vaccine technology.