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Indonesian government stops taking its meds, reverts to not sharing all bird flu samples

All this talk of Indonesia singing Kumbaya and sharing human H5N1 virus samples was, apparently, for naught.  Reuters is reporting that the Indonesian government has seemingly reversed its decision and will only share virus samples when they deem it appropriate -- or (my speculation entirely) until Bill Gates, who is slated to visit Indonesia in May, opens his foundation's considerable checkbook and helps bankroll vaccine if and when the pandemic comes.

This apparent change of direction is really not too different from what the Indonesians did last summer.  As you recall, Bali was hosting a huge global warming summit later that year, and they did not want it upstaged by world leaders contracting bird flu.  So, when Bali reported its multiple bird flu cases in humans, the Indonesian government sent virus samples to the WHO (see my blog "Dr. Chan, it's the Bali Chamber of Commerce calling..." , August 17, 2007).

So Indonesia will send samples only when they think it is appropriate.  We can take that to mean "only when they think the virus may have mutated."

As you may know, I blog on IT issues for industry insider magazine Computerworld.  I was asked to blog on Computerworld's Website for a number of reasons, especially because of my background in disaster recovery planning and my alleged expertise in pandemic planning for business and government.  I recently blogged on the situation in Indonesia for that universe of readers.  Please read the comment from a reader located in Indonesia, known as H&T, in response:

I live in bird flu central (Indonesia). My wife is Indonesian and hails from a rural background in east Java. Traveling in that part of the world I am struck by two things related to bird flu:

1) Everyone keeps chickens and ducks in their yard;
2) Almost no one has any inkling about bird flu or what precautions to take (almost everyone is a subsistence farmer with little access to or interest about information on global events and concerns).

Bird flu is almost certainly coming soon to a theatre near you. It will almost certainly "made in Indonesia" stamped on the side.

So we'll have to wait until the Indonesian government decides if a virus sample should be sent to the WHO.  It means that the Indonesian government will play "Stump the Band" with H5N1 and will send samples to the WHO if and only if their home-grown scientists cannot get the answers right and can convince the government to send them forward.

Well, that makes me feel warm all over.  How about you?

For the full Reuters story, see below,

Indonesia limits sharing of bird flu samples

Mon Mar 24, 2008 5:48pm IST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia will not fully share bird flu virus samples with the World Health Organization until a new global mechanism is in place, a senior official said on Monday.

Indonesia is the nation worst hit by H5N1 avian influenza, with 129 human cases, of whom 105 have died.

Indonesia sent bird flu virus samples last month to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a WHO-collaborating laboratory, after a nearly 6-month hiatus when it won assurance that it would get access to affordable vaccines.

But Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of a national commission dealing with bird flu, said Indonesia would only send virus samples on a case-by-case basis until a new virus sharing mechanism currently being drawn up by the WHO took effect.

"The health ministry decides whether or not to send samples," he told a news conference on the sidelines of a meeting to step up the campaign against bird flu in the capital Jakarta and surrounding areas.

He declined to say under what circumstances the ministry would decide to send samples to a WHO collaborating laboratory.

Indonesia drew international concern when it defied protocol and refused to share its virus samples last year, saying it wanted guarantees from richer nations and drugmakers that poor countries would get access to affordable vaccines derived from their samples.

Talks hosted by the WHO last year in Geneva failed to reach an agreement on a new virus-sharing system, and the impasse only seemed to ease when Indonesia handed over samples last month.

The WHO says it has begun to disclose how and where samples it receives are used in response to poor countries' demands for more transparency.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said last week Indonesian efforts have done little to control bird flu and the nation needed more help in controlling the virus.

Surveillance and response teams are working in 193 out of 448 districts in Indonesia, yet birds in 31 out of 33 provinces are affected, FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said.

Krisnamurthi said bird flu had cost Indonesia 4.1 trillion rupiah ($446.6 million) since cases in poultry were discovered in 2004, excluding the impact of job losses and reduced protein consumption among the population.

But he said there had not been evidence that the virus had mutated into a form that could jump easily between people.

The chief of Jakarta's animal husbandry department, Edy Setiarto, told the same news conference that he expected the city to be free of live poultry by 2010.

He said the current campaign to rid the capital of backyard poultry had faced problems because some residents had resisted.

(Reporting by Ahmad Pathoni; Editing by Ed Davies)