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  • Officials fail to agree on flu virus sharing

    Hat-tip, Pixie!

    Officials fail to agree on flu virus sharing
    By Andrew Jack in London and John Aglionby in Jakarta

    Published: May 23 2007 05:29 | Last updated: May 23 2007 13:52

    The swift development of new vaccines to protect against a future flu pandemic was threatened on Wednesday after countries failed to resolve differences over the rules for sharing virus samples.

    On its final day, the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva agreed a face-saving resolution to support sharing among World Health Organisation researchers but deferred a decision on clarifying their use by others including vaccine manufacturers.

    The action followed tough tactics to push for greater and more affordable access to pandemic vaccines in the developing world led by Indonesia, which has been worst hit to date with human deaths from the lethal H5N1 flu virus.

    Indonesia said last week that after a six month moratorium it had resumed supplying its human H5N1 samples to World Health Organisation (WHO) collaborating centres, in line with the long-standing practice originally developed for the production of annual seasonal flu vaccines.

    It welcomed the compromise resolution that urges the WHO?s member states to support ?the timely sharing of viruses? and ?to aim to ensure and promote transparent, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from ... vaccines and other technologies.?

    ?We didn?t get everything for Indonesia that we wanted but what we have is an agreement where the world is the winner,? Triyono Soendoro, a deputy health minister, told the Financial Times. ?There is no loser. The system has been revised.?

    However, Indonesia has several times announced it would resume sharing and then ceased again in the past few months. China has not provided samples for a year. Pressure has since grown, with Margaret Chan, the WHO director-general, last week accusing countries that did not cooperate of putting global public health at risk.

    The latest resolution delays for at least two months revisions to the terms of reference for ?oversight mechanisms ... draft standard terms and conditions for sharing viruses? between the WHO and third parties.

    It calls for an interdisciplinary working group to draw up conditions for virus sharing based on ?overriding principles? permission that must be sought directly from countries supplying samples for any use beyond the WHO?s terms of reference.

    It stresses that vaccine manufacturers should be able to gain ?full access? to viruses ?in times of public health emergencies?, but does not clarify the current situation when they require the latest H5N1 strains to help develop and test prototypes.

    WHO officials said the working group was unlikely to meet before July at the earliest, and failure to agree would shift a decision to another meeting in October and ultimately to next year?s health assembly.

    Existing practice is to allow samples to be shared freely between the WHO and vaccine manufacturers, reducing any delays in the development of new vaccines which currently take several months to produce.

    Indonesia initially ceased to share samples last year after it discovered that - in line with existing arrangements - CSL of Australia had developed a prototype pandemic flu vaccine for sale made using Indonesian strains provided via the WHO.

    Sharing is essential in the fight against flu, because the virus is constantly mutating and new vaccines must constantly be produced to be effective to each new variant. Several companies are developing prototype vaccines for H5N1, which in a mutated form could be the basis for a pandemic.

    ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

  • #2
    Re: Officials fail to agree on flu virus sharing

    Hat-tip, Pixie!

    Deal On Sharing Bird-Flu Samples Allows For 'Exceptions' - WHO
    May 23, 2007

    GENEVA (AP) -- U.N. health officials Wednesday welcomed a tentative agreement to share bird-flu virus samples, but said only time would tell how it would actually work.

    The preliminary deal reached Tuesday at the World Health Assembly after months of debate and strong opposition from developing countries outlines in broad terms how governments will work together to combat the threat of bird flu.

    But its implementation is voluntary, and exceptions are possible.

    "If countries wish to make exceptions, they will make exceptions," said Dr. David Heymann, the World Health Organization's top bird-flu official.

    "We will have an opportunity to see over the next few weeks, as we begin to request the viruses, if there are any conditions on (using) the viruses as they are sent in," he told The Associated Press.

    Indonesia stopped sharing virus samples with the international community last year, despite being the nation hardest-hit by H5N1. The country recently sent virus samples from two patients to a WHO-accredited laboratory in Japan after assurances that they wouldn't be passed on to private pharmaceutical companies without its permission.

    China, which hasn't shared virus specimens with WHO for almost a year, has also reportedly sent samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said they were due to arrive at the weekend.

    The global health body hopes countries will allow the samples to be used for risk assessment, development of non-commercial diagnostic tests and vaccine development, Heymann said.

    A number of developing countries, led by Indonesia, argue that the existing system of unconditional sample sharing puts poorer nations at a disadvantage because they are unable to afford commercial vaccines. This is doubly unfair because the vaccines might have been created from virus samples the poor countries supplied to the WHO.

    An expert meeting in the summer will propose specific criteria under which countries will share virus samples with the WHO and international health experts.

    Until then, the terms of the current agreement under which the WHO's 193 members "urge" each other to share samples for risk assessment and pandemic preparedness would stand, Heymann said.

    The interim deal reached in Geneva this week also urges WHO to negotiate with companies developing vaccines to set aside reserves for poor countries in case of a pandemic.

    Details about how the stockpile would be created, who would pay for it and how long the vaccines would remain viable are unclear.

    Building a vaccine stockpile also depends on producer countries agreeing to release stocks in the event of a pandemic, something that might not be possible under current emergency legislation.

    "Some countries have on the record laws that say that, should there be a pandemic, (they) cannot export any vaccine until (their) national domestic needs are satisfied." Heymann said. He didn't name countries which have such laws, but most vaccines are produced in Europe, Canada and the U.S..

    According to WHO officials, some 10 to 12 vaccines are currently being developed, of which nine have shown promising laboratory results. Any effective vaccine would have to be adapted to the specific type of flu virus causing the pandemic, and vaccine production facilities have to be increased.

    "The world is not prepared for a pandemic should it occur today. We don't have enough vaccine," Heymann said.

    At present the global vaccine production capability stands at 500 million "trivalent" doses - meaning it would protect against three types of viruses. This could be increased to 1.5 billion doses once the exact pandemic strain is known.

    "In a world of 6.2 billion, that's not enough vaccine," Heymann said.

    ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

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    • #3
      Re: Officials fail to agree on flu virus sharing

      Hat-tip, bgw in MT!

      toggletext-ed (+ some dictionary-translation) from Indonesian:

      Indonesia immediately sent the Sample of the Flu Burung Virus to WHO
      May 23, 2007

      - Lutfi Dwi Pujiastuti - Okezone

      Jakarta - Indonesia was recorded partly one of the highest countries of the sufferer of the bird flu virus in the world. So, Indonesia will send the sample of the bird flu virus following the agreement in the WHO meeting in Geneva, said Health Minister, Siti Fadilah Supari "We will immediately send the virus to the laboratory because we could monitor will be had what done to him by the virus," said mentri the health through the telephone from Geneva as being launched in the BBC.

      He said results of the agreement that was gained in meeting in Geneva was Indonesia will know definitely the use from sample the virus that was sent this, but when having the company that wanted to make their vaccine must get permission from from the Country that sent.

      "Within the same agreement in said that that sent the virus will take part in being involved to mementukan the price of the vaccine that was produced by one pharmacy company with the price reached," he added.

      In the meantime, the side of WHO Gregory Hartl, Communications Adviser, Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments, WHO in Geneva said this was the big step to determine the condition that was clear in the matter of various samples of the virus and the matter thus was agreed together to by all the side.

      "Yang clear will have consultations with the member countries that sent sample about the use sample the virus, details will further be discussed again the last few months," said.

      Berita terkini dan terbaru hari ini, terpercaya dan terlengkap. Okezone membahas Politik, Ekonomi, Travel, Lifestyle, Selebriti, Bola, Sports sampai berita Internasional
      ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

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