# 411
Obviously, any vaccine for the H5N1 virus would be a gold mine. This pathogen has produced an early reported fatality rate in excess of 60%. A pre-pandemic vaccine, while not necessarily a perfect match for whatever might come down the pike tomorrow, would still get a lot of takers.
Indonesia, the country hardest hit by the H5N1 virus, stopped sharing viral sequences last month in advance of striking a deal with a vaccine manufacturer. This from The Australian.
Indonesia stops sharing bird flu samples
- From correspondents in London
- February 06, 2007
INDONESIA has stopped sharing human genetic samples of the most deadly strain of bird flu with foreign laboratories to protect its intellectual property rights ahead of a planned vaccine tie-up with Baxter International.
Britain's Financial Times reported that Indonesia - the country worst affected by bird flu - stopped providing samples last month.
Dr Triono Soendoro, director general of Indonesia's National Institute of Health Research and Development, was quoted in the paper as saying the step was taken because Jakarta wanted to keep control of the intellectual property rights of the H5N1 strain.
He said "all will be revealed'' tomorrow when Indonesian officials were due to announce they were collaborating on a vaccine with Baxter, the US medical products maker, the newspaper said.
