AFD - Namru-2 Issues

[sharon sanders]

Supari On NAMRU-2



# 2106




Crof, over at Crofsblog, is supposed to be on a 10 day vacation, but he has managed to post a blog or two each day anyway. If you haven't been stopping by on a daily basis, you should.

Last night he posted on Indonesian Health Minister Supari's claim that NAMRU-2 (our Naval Medical Research Unit) stationed in Jakarta since the early 1970's, is of no benefit to the Indonesian people.

A hat tip to Crof for finding this article on Antara News.

6/25/08 14:56
Namru-2 is of no benefit to Indonesia, outspoken minister says


Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari refused to respond to written questions posed by the House of Representatives` Commission I to her on the presence of the US Navy`s medical laboratory Namru-2 in Indonesia.


"To me, nothing needs to be explained because the presence of Namru-2 is obviously of no benefit to Indonesia," the minister said in a working meeting with the House`s Commission I here on Wednesday.


In the meeting led by Commission I Chairman Theo L Sambuaga, Minister Supari said she was very disappointed about a visit House Commission I members had made to the Namru-2 laboratory last Wednesday (June 18).
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The visit was useless because Namru-2 had done nothing in the interest of research in Indonesia, she said.
(cont. )
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posted by FLA_MEDIC @ 8:16 AM

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: AFD - Namru-2 Issues

Thread on this subject on FluTrackers here:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63895

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: AFD - Namru-2 Issues

Monday, July 07, 2008

<!-- Begin .post --> NAMRU-2's Future In Indonesia




# 2123



Talks on the future of our NAMRU (Naval Medical Research Unit) 2 lab, which has operated out of Jakarta since 1970, are apparently on hold right now, and when they will resume is uncertain.

Our NAMRU labs are among the most sophisticated in the world. Having one on site in a hotspot country like Indonesia could prove vital in any early detection of changes in the H5N1 virus.


This article from the Los Angeles Times has a good overview of the situation, along with an evaluation of what is at stake.

Follow the link to read the entire article.

Scientists warn against closing Navy lab


Indonesia facility is called an asset

By Paul Watson
Los Angeles Times / July 7, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia -Threats to shut down a US Navy medical research lab here might undermine the hunt for mutating viruses that could set off the next global flu pandemic, Western scientists warn.

Indonesia suspended negotiations with the United States over the fate of Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 last month after senior politicians said it didn't benefit Indonesia and could be a cover for spying.

The US Embassy denied the facility is used to gather intelligence, and said most of the lab's staff are Indonesians helping with research carried out in cooperation with local health officials.

The biomedical research lab opened in Jakarta in 1970 and studies tropical diseases including malaria, dengue fever, and avian flu, according to an embassy fact sheet.

It has a staff of about 175 scientists, doctors, veterinarians, and technologists, but only 19 are American. The rest are Indonesians.

Navy research labs also are in Egypt, Kenya, Peru, and Thailand.

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said last month that his ministry recommended the lab be closed because its operations were too secretive, and were incompatible with Indonesia's security interests.

Dr. Siti Fadilah Supari, the health minister, also said she had recommended to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that it be closed.

(Cont.)
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posted by FLA_MEDIC @ 8:58 AM

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: AFD - Namru-2 Issues

Indonesia Suspends US NAMRU Lab Operations


# 2326



After months of threats, it appears that Indonesian officials have made good on their promise to shut down the US NAMRU-2 (Naval Medical Research Unit) lab in Jakarta.


NAMRU-2, the Naval Medical Research Unit (#2), was established in 1944, and over the past 64 years has been stationed at various locations in the Pacific Theatre.


NAMRU-3 is located in Cairo, Egypt.


Over the past 6 decades NAMRU-2 has been headquartered in places such as Guam, Taiwan, Manila, and most recently Indonesia, and it has been credited with major breakthroughs in research, particularly on tropical diseases.


Over the past few years, bird flu has been a major focus of their work, although it isn't clear how much access they've had over the past two years. Relations with the Indonesian government have been tenuous at best.

NAMRU-2's relationship with Indonesia has been further strained by the recent publication of Health Minister Supari's book charging the United States with trying to profit from the spread of bird flu.
​

Over the summer there were wild, often outlandish charges lodged against the NAMRU personnel, and calls for investigations by Indonesian politicians.

A few of my previous blogs on this are here, here, here, and here.


While not completely unexpected, this is very disappointing.


The closing of NAMRU in Indonesia is another serious setback in our ability to track the bird flu virus in the the hottest of the hotzone countries.


This report from Reuters.

Thursday September 25, 2008


Indonesia halts U.S. naval lab's activities


JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has halted the activities of a U.S. naval medical lab in Jakarta following a dispute over the terms of a contract, the health minister said on Thursday.

The U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 has been key to efforts to track bird flu in Indonesia, the country with the most human deaths from the H5N1 virus.

But a memorandum of understanding allowing the lab to operate in Jakarta expired two years ago and was not renewed as a dispute arose over Indonesia's sharing of samples of H5N1 with the rest of the world.

"They are not allowed to do any activities anymore," Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari told Reuters by phone. "The term is suspension, but there are no activities at all now."

Earlier in April, she said the lab was not very beneficial to Indonesia because it refused to share all its findings with the host country.

(Continue . . .)
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