Monday, November 26, 2007

Indonesian minister witholding specimens from WHO

Indonesia's health minister said over the weekend that the World Health Organization would not receive bird flu specimens from Indonesia unless assurances were given to poorer nations that any pandemic vaccines would be affordable for them.

"Siti Fadilah Supari made the comments on her return from Geneva, where the WHO held an intergovernmental conference aimed at rebuilding a global system for sharing flu viruses following a months-long standoff with Indonesia.

'The meeting failed to come up with a material of transfer agreement,' she told reporters in the city of Bandung.

'So we have no obligation to send bird flu virus samples to the World Health Organization.'"

Full Story via H5N1 blog: http://www.crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/

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