Medical journal says decision to withhold H5N1 virus from WHO 'understandable'

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20070216145205&irec=0

February 16, 2007

JAKARTA (AP): Indonesia's decision to withhold samples of its bird flu virus from the World Health Organization unless an agreement is reached on commercial development of a vaccine is "understandable," a leading medical journal said.

Indonesia, the country hardest-hit by bird flu, is worried that large drug companies will use its H5N1 strain to make vaccines that will be too expensive for developing nations to afford in the event of a global pandemic that could kill millions.

It has reason to worry, the British medical journal The Lancet wrote in an editorial Thursday. It called on WHO to push for an international agreement ensuring that developing countries have access to future bird flu vaccines.

"To protect the global population, 6.2 billion doses of pandemic vaccine will be needed, but under current manufacturing capacity the world can only produce 500 million doses," it said.

"In a pandemic, it is industrialized countries that will have access to available vaccines, whereas developing countries where a pandemic is likely to emerge will be left wanting."

Last week, Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding to provide U.S. drug manufacturer Baxter Healthcare Corp. with strains of its virus in exchange for technology to manufacture a vaccine.

Other organizations, including WHO, would only have access to Indonesian samples if they agree not to pass them on to commercial vaccine makers.

Indonesia's move was "understandable" and its concerns justified, The Lancet said. (**)