Indonesia announced three deaths from bird flu on Wednesday, taking its overall human toll from the virus to 69 fatalities, as its president called for international aid to help affected countries defeat the disease.
The confirmation of more deaths came a day after Indonesia, which has the world's highest human death toll from H5N1, agreed to resume sharing virus samples for research in exchange for a World Health Organisation pact to restrict drug company access to them.
The WHO and other experts say sharing samples is vital to finding ways to fight the virus, while Indonesia and some other developing countries such as Thailand want to make sure they have access to human vaccines at reasonable prices.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday the world should work to create a level playing field to combat bird flu and other health threats.
"I would like to stress that winning the global health battle depends on empowering all countries to equitably develop their own preparedness and protection capacity for all infectious and life-threatening diseases," he told representatives of nearly 30 countries meeting in Jakarta to discuss the bird flu problem. A meeting of health ministers on Wednesday ended with a statement called the Jakarta Declaration.
In the document, the ministers re-affirmed their goal of ensuring a fair virus-sharing mechanism. They also agreed to strengthen the global influenza surveillance network, improve access to safe and effective H5N1 and other potential pandemic influenza vaccines and try to boost the number of high-tech WHO reference laboratories in developing countries.
The virus is endemic among fowl in many parts of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country. Human cases generally involve contact with infected birds. A health ministry official said on Wednesday second tests had confirmed a teenager, a 22-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man had died from bird flu in Indonesia.
Bird flu has swept through poultry across Asia to Africa and Europe. Experts say it could mutate into a form easily passing from one person to another, possibly killing millions in months.
Indonesia has had difficulty controlling the disease because millions of Indonesians keep small numbers of chickens, ducks and other domesticated birds, for food and to supplement incomes.
Its agreement on Tuesday to resume sending virus samples to the WHO ended a stand-off that began in December when Jakarta refused to share samples of the virus unless it had guarantees they would not be used commercially.
Under the Tuesday agreement the WHO is to develop "terms of reference" on sharing viruses and any sharing outside those rules, including for vaccine development by drug companies, would require the consent of countries from where the virus originated.
The WHO said in separate statement it welcomed the Indonesian decision, and "WHO Collaborating Centres will continue risk assessment on H5N1 virus samples. The centres will continue to transform virus into seed virus suitable for vaccine production.
"Other agreed uses of the virus will also be outlined in the Terms of Reference - including the standard procedures for providing these seed viruses to vaccine manufacturers ... in a manner to be determined," the WHO statement said. In his remarks, Indonesia 's President Yudhoyono suggested it was not just a matter of co-operating with the WHO.
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