Indonesia reluctant when it comes to sharing bird flu samples

Indonesia, the country with the highest number of human deaths from the bird flu, remains reluctant to share samples of live bird flu virus for research.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Indonesia's withholding of such samples taken from infected humans, is hampering international efforts to develop a vaccine.

Indonesia at one point in May this year, resumed sending samples of the virus to the WHO but the three specimens sent to the agency's Tokyo office from Jakarta did not contain any live samples of the virus.

The WHO's Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases David Heymann, says a bird flu vaccine has more chance of being effective if it contains components of the Indonesian strain of the virus.

While Indonesian health officials continue to withhold their samples scientists cannot analyse possible mutations or new strains of the H5N1 virus needed to develop a vaccine.

Influenza vaccines must be reformulated each year to match the circulating strains because the virus mutates so often.

Heymann says Indonesia's scientists are putting their own country and the world in danger by their behaviour.

In December, Indonesia stopped sending samples of the H5N1 strain to WHO and foreign laboratories in order to prevent Western companies from producing private versions of a bird flu vaccine.

Indonesia officials justify such behaviour by suggesting that the West will use their strains to develop an expensive anti-bird flu vaccine unaffordable to poor countries.

Indonesian scientists are therefore insisting on an international guideline to protect Jakarta's access to any future vaccine.

Heymann says China last sent bird flu samples in June and Vietnam is attempting to share specimens.

H5N1 vaccines developed from live virus samples could be used to contain an early epidemic among humans or to prime certain populations for a possible outbreak to give them a degree of immunity.

According to WHO figures, 319 people have become infected with bird flu since 2003 and 192 have died.

Indonesia has had to date 81 confirmed human deaths from bird flu, more than any other country; the disease is endemic among birds in most parts of Indonesia, where millions of backyard chickens are kept close to humans.

Almost all those who have contracted bird flu have had direct or indirect contact with infected fowl, but experts remain concerned that the constantly-mutating virus could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person and trigger a pandemic with the potential to kill millions.