Earlier Indonesia suspended the program of sharing bird flu samples with various vaccine firms fearing they would use the samples for commercial gain and would not subsidize the same.

Bird flu has wrecked havoc in Indonesia and has claimed at least 63 human lives. Around 33 of the country's provinces have endemic H5N1 bird flu. Last year the country was hot by fears of human-to-human transmission of bird flu.

The WHO confirmed partial human to human transmission in 2006. Since then Indonesia is sharing the samples of bird flu virus with UN's premier health agency.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday the world should focus on a level playing field so that bird flu and other health threats would be effectively combated.

"I would like to stress that winning the global health battle depends on empowering all countries to equitably develop their own preparedness and protection capacity for all infectious and life-threatening diseases," he said while addressing representatives of nearly 30 countries assembled in the capital to discuss the bird flu threat.

Indonesia's minister of health, Siti Fadilah Supari said the country was satisfied with the assurances given by the WHO regarding the non-release of bird flu samples to drug companies.

David Heymann, WHO Assistant Director-General for Communicable Disease agreed that poor countries must have the same rights as rich ones as far as drug pricing is concerned. "Industrialized countries negotiate regularly for vaccines, and they have got stockpiles and they get vaccines," he said. "There is no reason that developing countries should not do the same thing."

The bird flu virus originated in Hong Kong in 1997 and reemerged in 2003 and has since caused havoc worldwide. The H5N1 virus is primarily found in birds, but is transmitted to humans in close contact with sick fowl. The source of the virus remains a mystery. However it is recognized as a typical influenza virus in birds.

Indonesia is the worst-affected country with 65 deaths followed by Vietnam. . Last month Indonesia created a furor when it declared that it would not share the H5N1 virus with the WHO if the virus was used for commercial purposes.

Indonesia said it was restricting the sharing of bird flu samples because foreign labs were using it to manufacture vaccines that they sold back to the country at a high price.But this agreement with the WHO should take care of those concerns.
 

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