Top US health official: Indonesia endangering world by not sharing bird flu samples

The Associated Press ,  Hanoi   |  Wed, 04/16/2008 6:25 PM  |  World

The world is less safe because Indonesia is withholding bird flu virus samples from the international community, the top U.S. health official said Wednesday, adding he is hopeful the issue can be resolved soon.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt told The Associated Press that Indonesia's refusal to cooperate with the World Health Organization's long-standing virus-sharing system is disappointing. Health officials there have stressed they will not
hand over specimens unless they receive compensation from any drug company wishing to use the virus samples for vaccine development.

"If Indonesia decides to not be part of the world community and the international mainstream on this for a time, that would be regrettable," he said. "The world will be slightly less safe, but at some point we have to move onto finding other ways to make the world safe."

Leavitt, on a Southeast Asian trip this week to promote food safety, met with Indonesia's president and health minister in Jakarta before making stops in Singapore and Vietnam. Indonesia has withheld nearly all of its bird flu samples from WHO since January 2007, arguing that poor countries should retain the rights to any vaccines made from their viruses.

Leavitt said both sides agreed to work toward finding a solution within the next two months. Otherwise, the U.S. will move on and concentrate its efforts elsewhere, he said.

The H5N1 bird flu virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. It remains hard for people to catch, but 107 people have died in Indonesia, nearly half the 240 recorded human deaths worldwide, according to WHO.

Scientists say it is crucial to receive fresh bird flu specimens to ensure the virus is not mutating into a form that could easily spread among people, potentially sparking a pandemic that might kill millions worldwide.

Leavitt last visited the region in 2005 to assess the bird flu siuation and identify areas where the U.S. could help developing countries better prepare to fight emerging health threats. He is
expected to visit a chicken farm in southern Vietnam on Friday.

"There's still much to do," he said. "I feel good about progress in the areas I know about, but there are still major parts of the world where we don't have any idea of knowing what's going on."

In addition to bird flu, Leavitt is also pushing for countries to tighten standards on food and other goods shipped to the United States. He said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to open an office in China following a number of cases in which contaminaed or adulterated Chinese products imported by the U.S. were recalled after killing or sickening people and animals. He said he hopes a similar office will eventually be set up in India.(**)

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