By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, May 22 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation on Tuesday agreed to demands from Indonesia and other developing countries to revamp its 50-year-old system for sharing influenza virus samples which are used to develop commercial vaccines. It agreed to set up a working group to revise the "terms of reference" for WHO laboratories which analyse samples -- including deadly H5N1 bird flu -- and draw up rules for sharing them with third parties such as researchers and drug companies. Sharing samples is deemed vital to see if viruses have mutated, become drug resistant or grown more transmissible. "We are here to listen to our member states' wishes. They've set up a mechanism now to develop the best ways we can work now on virus sharing and sharing in the benefits," David Heymann, WHO's top bird flu official, told Reuters. The WHO, a U.N. agency, will also work to ensure "fair and equitable distribution" of pandemic influenza vaccines at affordable prices, according to the agreed resolution. In the meantime, countries are expected to continue "timely sharing" of virus samples with the WHO's labs to help track the virus and assess the risk of an influenza pandemic. The consensus text, approved by a committee of the annual World Health Assembly, came after arduous negotiations. It is expected to be formally adopted by all 193 member states at the end of the 10-day session on Wednesday. Viroj Tangcharoensathien of Thailand, who chaired the negotiations, said there had been "technical and political complexities" but a "spirit of compromise" had prevailed. "Trust has now gradually been regained in the work of the WHO's Global Influenza Surveillance Network, which is the backbone of influenza containment," he told the Geneva talks. "It is now 50-years-old and needs to grow up further and bear fruits for all member states." VACCINES Developing countries led by Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari last week demanded a fair share of commercial vaccines derived from H5N1 samples they provide. "We seek the way how the current mechanism could be improved so as to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits, especially to developing countries, as well to achieve our common ultimate goal -- global health security," Widjaja Lukito, an adviser to Supari, told the talks on Tuesday. Indonesia and other developing countries stood "ready to participate constructively", he said. The bird flu virus has killed more than 185 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since it re-emerged in 2003. Although it remains mainly an animal disease, scientists fear that if it mutates into a disease easily spread amongst people, it could kill millions. Supari last week announced that Indonesia -- which has the highest toll of 76 deaths -- had resumed sharing samples with WHO after a five-month hiatus. But since resuming cooperation, Jakarta only sent three samples to a WHO collaborating centre in Japan, while nearly a dozen samples from confirmed bird flu cases are still outstanding, senior WHO officials say. The resolution sets a year-long timeline starting with a working group, an October meeting of an inter-governmental group and a final decision at next year's World Health Assembly.
