Australia will boost assistance to Indonesia to combat bird flu by purchasing an additional 40,000 courses of the anti-viral medication Tamiflu for the Southeast Asian nation.

This latest funding follows Australia's initial funding for 10,000 emergency courses of the drug.

Announcing the move, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Monday that this funding will help Indonesia develop a stockpile of Tamiflu which will be used to treat suspected victims and people who have been in immediate close contact with them, and hospital workers in 44 identified Avian Influenza national referral hospitals.

"The Australian Government is committed to taking a strong leadership role in combating Avian Influenza in the Asia Pacific and this assistance demonstrates our intention to work closely with regional partners as they implement their plans to treat victims and prevent spread of the disease," Downer said in a statement.

Australian Department of Health officials have recently been in Indonesia for discussions with senior Indonesian officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) country office, Downer said.

"In addition to providing this immediate assistance for Indonesia, we are taking a wider view and working vigorously to encourage the broader international community to engage seriously on this issue," he said.

"In particular, we want to ensure that effectively addressing Avian Influenza in the Asia Pacific region is a strong focus of the forthcoming APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting in South Korea," he said.

Source: Xinhua