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U.S. rejects bird flu allegations
Wed, 04/23/2008 10:37 AM | World
The United States Embassy on Tuesday denied allegations it was "seeking to spread avian influenza (AI) or cause harm to human life through biological weaponization of the AI virus as false and without merit".
In a press release sent to The Jakarta Post, it said such allegations "are preposterous and a grave injustice to the people of the United States".
It referred to Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, whom it said had made false claims that the United States was developing biological weapons from avian influenza samples.
In her recently released book Saatnya Berubah, Tangan Tuhan Dibalik Bird Flu (It's Time To Change, Divine Hands Behind Bird Flu), the minister alleged Washington was using bird flu samples shared by affected countries to create biological weapons.
Indonesia since February last year has stopped sharing bird flu samples with the World Health Organization pending an agreement that would benefit Indonesia in terms of vaccine distribution.
The press release said the United States was dedicated to working with other governments and international organizations to help prevent the spread of this disease, to avert any possible avian influenza pandemic and to plan for possible health contingencies.
The United States and Indonesia, it said, have a close partnership in combating avian influenza and the United States has provided more than US$50 million in support for Indonesia's efforts to prevent and control avian influenza since 2005. -- JP/Tony Hotland
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Lisa the GP (not verified) — Wed, 04/23/2008 - 12:21pm
This accusation is just plain nuts.
One of the problems with a flu virus is that its genetic code is so easily variable. That is why, each year, there is a different strain of seasonal flu, and each year, a new vaccine must be made to match the new strain.
Any nation that tried to 'weaponize' a flu virus would only find, a few months later, that the virus they released had mutated away from whatever vaccine they thought they had for their own population. Then the virus would blow back upon its inventors and kill them with the same gusto it had had against their opponents.
Just from the nature of flu viruses, making a weapon out of one would be an *incredibly* stupid thing for anyone to do. There is no way to reliably protect your own people from it.
Besides, what would the US stand to gain by damaging Indonesia?
The only thing Indonesia's refusal to release virus samples to WHO is doing, is assuring that the only country that will have any kind of vaccine in the early days of a pandemic will be China, because they have their own bird flu strains to work with.
And you know what happens to the price of something when there is no competition in who to buy it from. Do you really think you'd get a good deal from the Chinese under those conditions?
Lisa
California