Indonesia Withholds More H5N1 Samples
Recombinomics Commentary 13:25
February 19, 2008
THE Indonesian Health Minister has said the United States and the World Health Organisation are part of a global conspiracy to profit from the spread of bird flu and the US may use samples to produce biological weapons.
The views of Dr Siti Fadilah Supari, outlined in her new book, threaten to undermine efforts to control the spread of avian influenza.
Applications to send more than 200 samples from chickens to an Australian laboratory had also been refused, inquiries by the Herald have revealed.
The above comments represent a serious deterioration of efforts to monitor the evolution and spread of H5N1.
Although the withholding of human Indonesian H5N1 samples has been ongoing for over a year, the release of bird samples has provided a limited view of H5N1 evolution in Indonesia. Many of the newly acquired polymorphisms in Indonesian isolates also appear in isolates outside of Indonesia, due to continuing mixing of H5N1 via co-infections in wild birds.
Recent comments from India have noted the presence of Indonesian sequences in isolates in India, and expanded collections outside of Indonesia could provide additional insight.
However, Indonesia’s clade 2.1 isolates contain unique combinations which are important for the mapping of polymorphism movement and change.
The withholding of H5N1 isolates by WHO consultants outside of Indonesia does not enhance WHO’s position of sharing samples and information.
The complexity of H5N1 continues to grow as governments and agency implement policies which are hazardous to the world’s health.
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