Indonesia will resume sending live virus sample of the avian influenza to the World Health Organization (WHO) only after a new mechanism on virus sharing is approved, an official said Tuesday.
"We will stick to the resolution and wait until new mechanism is approved after an inter-governmental meeting in Geneva in November," health ministry spokesperson Lily Sulistyowati was quoted by major national newspaper The Jakarta Post's website as saying.
"However, anyone who needs the virus can file a special request to us officially," she said.
The WHO said earlier it had received three specimens from Jakarta in May, but none contained any live virus.
Indonesia, the hardest hit nation which recorded 82 casualties out of 101 infected people, stopped sharing its samples of H5N1 strains with WHO early this year following the finding that an Australian pharmaceutical company had used the virus without Jakarta's permission.
It ended its boycott in May, however, after receiving assurances from WHO that the virus samples would be used only for risk assessment and not passed on to private pharmaceutical companies without Jakarta's permission.
Lily confirmed that the ministry had sent its virus in May, but could not understand why the health organization did not make any complaint earlier.
Source: Xinhua
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