Indonesia stops sharing bird flu samples
Source: Reuters
(adds WHO comment from briefing in Geneva, new paras 8-12) JAKARTA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Indonesia will not be sharing its H5N1 bird flu virus samples with foreign laboratories, but will make its genetic data available for other experts, a health ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Sharing of H5N1 samples is crucial as it allows experts to study the makeup of the virus, trace its evolution and the geographical spread of any particular strain. They are also used to prepare vaccines. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Indonesia had stopped sharing human genetic samples of the virus with foreign laboratories to protect its intellectual property rights ahead of a planned vaccine tie-up with U.S. company Baxter International Inc <BAX.N>. "We cannot share (virus) samples for free. There should be rules of the game for it," said health ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati. "Just imagine, they could research, use and patent the Indonesia strain. We cannot give the (virus) specimen, but we can share data in the gene bank," she added. She was referring to a World Health Organisation (WHO) databank containing genetic data of the H5N1 virus made available by scientists studying the virus. The gene bank is accessible to the WHO's network of influenza laboratories and other experts working in the field. David Heymann, the WHO's top bird flu official in Geneva, confirmed that Indonesia had not provided any samples of its bird flu strain this year. He also expressed the agency's concerns that the virus should remain a "public good". "Indonesia has not shared viruses since the beginning of the year. They are storing those viruses," Heymann told reporters. He added: "Their major concern is that the virus strain which they have put into the WHO network, the Indonesian strain, has been used by several manufacturers to develop vaccines -- which is within the mandate of the network. "After that, these companies have then gone on to produce vaccines, using these viruses. And Indonesia feels that they must be getting some compensation for the use of their viruses in production and marketing of these vaccines," he said. Heymann said that the WHO had been working with Indonesia's health ministry on the issue since late November and would continue to do so, and also hold more talks with drug companies. VACCINE TIE-UP Sulistyowati confirmed Indonesia would sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Baxter on Wednesday to develop a human bird flu vaccine. "The vaccine is to prevent poultry-to-human infection. That's what we need for the current situation and not for the future pandemic," she said. No comment was immediately available from Baxter. A source familiar with the Indonesian situation said Jakarta's move not to share bird flu virus specimens was being discussed at the international level and that unhappiness was not only confined to Indonesian scientists. An international agreement and protocol on the sharing of samples may have to be hammered out, the source said. Last year, China complained that foreign scientists in WHO collaborating laboratories published papers in scientific journals after receiving samples and genetic sequencing data in 2004 from Chinese scientists without giving them recognition. The spat was so serious that Beijing stopped sharing samples and only agreed to resume in December after WHO director-general Margaret Chan stepped in to resolve the matter. Bird flu remains largely an animal disease, but it can kill people who have close contact with infected fowls. It has killed more than 160 people over the past four years, including 63 in Indonesia -- the most fatalities of any countries in the world.
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
