The World Health Organisation says it has begun to disclose how and where the samples of bird flu virus it receives from affected countries are used, in response to poor countries' demands for more transparency, according to Reuters. The electronic tracking system, which went live this week, is a step towards appeasing the concerns of Indonesia and other developing countries that the biological specimens they share with the WHO will be used to make affordable vaccines. "The system is fully operational and can be downloaded. It is one important measure that was called for and has been taken," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters on Wednesday. The newly-public information includes listing of the samples received, the laboratory handling them, analyses carried out and their possible use as vaccines for fighting a flu pandemic. China, Iraq, Nigeria, Vietnam and other countries that have had human cases of bird flu have sent nearly 9,000 specimens from humans and animals suspected of infections with the H5N1 strain between 2003 and 2007, WHO data shows. Of this group, only 734 contained live virus strain. The WHO has recommended that 13 of them be made into so-called seed viruses for vaccine development. Experts fear the H5N1 virus, which has led to the slaughter of many poultry populations worldwide, could mutate into a form easily spread among people and spark a pandemic. The virus has killed 219 of the 351 people infected with it since it re-emerged in 2003 in Asia. At least 16 companies are licensing a vaccine against H5N1, including Novartis, Glaxo, Baxter, CSL and Sanofi Pasteur. Sharing H5N1 samples allows scientists to check if the virus has mutated, become drug resistant or grown more transmissible. Developing countries, which have logged the largest numbers of human H5N1 cases, have demanded better access to the benefits of sharing their samples. Having a "traceability mechanism" in place was a key demand raised at a WHO meeting in November. Indonesia -- which is the hardest hit country with 97 of the 219 human bird flu deaths worldwide since 2003 -- wants guarantees from rich countries and drug makers that it will be able to afford vaccines made from their samples.
