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JAKARTA: Indonesia's health minister called on Monday for new rules to govern the development of human vaccines against bird flu to ensure poorer nations can afford them.
Siti Fadilah Supari made the call at a World Health Organisation (WHO) bird flu meeting intended to resolve a dispute with Indonesia, the country worst hit by the disease, over sharing virus samples for key tests.
"The existing process in which the WHO and its affiliates share virus samples with private companies, without collaboration with the countries from which virus samples originate, is unacceptable for developing countries," she said.
"The system places developing countries at a potential disadvantage in terms of price access and supplies," she said. "The laws of the system should be modified."
Indonesia announced in February that it had stopped sending samples to the WHO over concerns they would be used to develop pricey vaccines beyond poorer countries' budgets.
It has asked for a legal guarantee that samples sent to international WHO reference laboratories for tests – a process said to be key in fighting human flu – will not be exploited for profit by drugs firms.
Supari said the current approach to virus sharing and vaccine development, which dates back about 50 years, favoured rich nations and their pharmaceutical firms.
"I have talked with representatives of nations around the world and, in particular, Indonesia's regional neighbours," she said.
"I think I speak for all of them in saying that the issue created by the current system is one of the highest public health priorities."
Thailand, which earlier this year breached patents on AIDS drugs, reportedly supports Indonesia's stance but is still sharing samples with the WHO.
Indonesian People's Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie said the potential for unequal access to bird flu vaccines posed one of the weightiest moral dilemmas the world faced, given the potential impact of a human flu pandemic.
"The risk is still very high," he said. "Vaccines ... are the most important medical intervention for reducing morbidity and mortality of an influenza pandemic."
Indonesia has already signed a cooperation agreement with US company Baxter International to jointly develop a human bird flu vaccine in a bid to ensure it benefits from a future treatment.
Representatives from 16 nations and organisations are attending the WHO meeting in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, to discuss "responsible practices" for sharing virus samples.
Indonesia has suffered 66 human deaths from bird flu, the world's highest toll, and 86 confirmed cases. The WHO says there have been 281 cases and 169 deaths worldwide, mostly in Southeast Asia.
Scientists fear the H5N1 bird flu strain could mutate into a form easily spread among humans, leading to a global pandemic with the potential to kill millions.
- AFP/so
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