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To: FOREIGN EDITORS

Contact: HHS Press Office, +1-202-690-6343

WASHINGTON, May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following
statement was released today by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services:

I am pleased the World Health Assembly has adopted a resolution on
pandemic influenza preparedness that makes clear that Member States
must continue to share influenza specimens and viruses with the World
Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance Network.

I am also pleased that the resolution emphasizes the need for
increased vaccine access. We have invested heavily in the …

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Information provided by: Findarticles.com

GENEVA (AFP) — The World Health Organisation on Wednesday adopted an interim deal on bird flu virus sample sharing, temporarily resolving a dispute that was threatening efforts to prevent a global pandemic, a senior official said.

The 193 member states in the agency’s assembly approved a resolution on sharing viruses and access to flu vaccines without a vote.

“Countries have agreed to share viruses until another mechanism is set up,” WHO transmissible diseases chief David Heymann said.

“This is a very important commitment by the 193 countries,” he told journalists.

Indonesia — the country most affected by H5N1 bird flu this year — had stopped sending viruses to foreign laboratories until recently and demanded changes to the global flu surveillance system to ensure developing countries get a fair deal.

Sample sharing allows confirmation of suspected human cases of bird flu by one of eight WHO reference laboratories around the world. The …

Information provided by: Findarticles.com