NAMRU2 Issue

[Treyfish]

<H2>Indonesia bans Navy medical research unit

</H2>


Kyodo News Agency
Posted : Thursday Apr 10, 2008 7:10:53 EDT
<FORM id=hidden> </FORM>
JAKARTA, Indonesia ? The Indonesian government has banned the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, or NAMRU-2 ? which is studying infectious diseases in Southeast Asia, including bird flu ? from operating in the country, an evening newspaper said Thursday. The reason behind the ban was not immediately clear.
Sinar Harapan daily reported that a note on the ban, signed by Triono Soendoro, director of the Health Research and Development Agency of the Health Ministry, had been circulated among several ministries.
?It [NAMRU-2] has been banned to operate here. Sorry, but I can?t comment further,? the newspaper quoted Soendoro as saying.
Health Ministry spokesman Soemardi also refused to confirm the report.
?I haven?t received any information about that,? he told Kyodo News.
The ban follows the publication of a book by Health Minister Siti Rahil Fadilah Supari, in which she accused the World Health Organization and the U.S. government of trying to profit from the spread of bird flu. NAMRU-2 began investigating the disease after initial cases were identified in Indonesia in 2004.
In the book, ?It?s Time for the World to Change,? Supari claimed WHO laboratories forward avian influenza specimens to western countries that make vaccines and then profit from their sale back to the affected countries.
As of Tuesday, bird flu had infected at least 379 people in 14 countries since its re-emergence in December 2003. According to WHO data, 239 of them have died.
Indonesia leads the table with 107 deaths, followed by Vietnam with 52 and Egypt with 21.
The other affected countries are Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Iraq, Laos, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand and Turkey.
The NAMRU-2 Detachment was established in Indonesia in 1970 and is one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in Southeast Asia. Its work was done in cooperation with and under the auspices of the Indonesian Health Research and Development Agency.:tiphat: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/04/kyo_indonesia_041008/

 

[Treyfish]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Probably not good.

 

[tropical]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Suspected, if other international kinds of bodies can't got informations.

The WHO will now switch the supervision from space (like Google does)

 

[Treyfish]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Depok - the Spreading of the good bird flu virus to the poultry and humankind in several countries continued to spring up.
If the handling of the spreading of slow bird flu, then the threat of the influenza pandemic would increasingly real.
So, diplomacy of the health field in the international depths really was needed in order to create the mechanism of the control of just and transparent bird flu.
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Was like this was sent by Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari in going to class the public had the theme Avian Diplomacy: Facing tea of Challenges of Technology and Global Capitalism, opposite the students in the auditorium of the Native, the campus of FISIP Universitas Indonesia, Depok, of West Java.In the agenda, Menkes also explained briefly about the contents of his work book was entitled Saatnya Dunia Berubah!The hands of the Lord behind the Flu Burung Virus.He explained, in the middle of efforts to look for bird flu medicine on the basis of the determination of the diagnosis, the Kesehatan Body of the World ordered the country where being found by the case of bird flu to humankind to send the sample of this virus to the reconciliation laboratory of WHO. Pada Kenyataannya, the sample of the virus was even used for the commercial interests by the pharmacy company without se Indonesian government knowledge.</PRE>​

</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>It was related that that, his side decided to stop the sending of the sample of the virus until WHO changed the mechanism of the sending of the sample of the just and transparent virus.
With the long mechanism, the sender's country of the sample of the virus did not receive some sort benefits when the sample of the virus was made the vaccine candidate by the pharmacy company from developed countries.
Moreover, they must buy the vaccine or medicine with the price was very expensive.
Therefore, his side demanded that the mechanism of the sending of the sample of the virus used the transfer agreement of the material (MTA).
The sender's entitled also country received the good benefit took the form of the transfer of technology and the ease got the vaccine with the cheap price.
"With diplomacy" of the "good health field, then the mechanism" of the "sending" of the "sample" of the "virus that went for dozens of years and very damaging developing countries could be changed," he said.
International diplomacy very important in an effort to bring about the eradication of potential infectious diseases the plague including the illness zoonosis.So that the change in the mechanism of the sending of the sample of the virus could be continuous, then currently each sample of the virus that was sent uses MTA. "Tanpa the existence" of the "agreement between the sender's country and the recipient's agency, then Indonesia will not send the sample" of the "virus."This change also was internationally valid, said Fadilah.(EVY)The source: Kompas:tiphat: http://www.burung.org/detail_txt.php?op=news&id=167</PRE>

 

[Treyfish]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

:tiphat: dbg:tiphat: Here's the NAMRU2 article from Sinar Harapan:



Flu Burung
Indonesia Closed the American Laboratory NAMRU2

Jakarta - The existence of a American naval laboratory, will be ended with the circulation of the Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 (NAMRU 2) operation of the banning letter in Indonesia that was marked[?] handled by the Head of the Research and Development Body (Balitbangkes) the Department of the Health, Dr. Triyono some time before.

"Not was closed, but was forbidden to operate. Sorry I could not comment more far," was like this Triyono gazed at the Management Meeting of Department the Health, on Thursday (10/4) in Jakarta responded to the circulating letter interdepartmental this.

Director General Eradication of infectious diseases and Environment Sanitation (PP&PL) Dr. Nyoman Kandun explained that till at this time indeed did not yet have the new MOU between Indonesia and America about the existence NAMRU2 in Indonesia. "Indeed does not yet have the new MOU till now. That not my authority to answer," stressed Nyoman Kandun when being contacted on Thursday morning (10/4).

A source from kaangan intelligence separately welcomed this banning. "Therefore NAMRU2 was not permitted again to take the sample of the patient's direct blood to hospitals or to villages like that uptil now often was carried out without being material Transfer Agreement (MTA) like that was required by the Health Minister", explained the source that did not want to be named by his identity.

The banning of this operation according to this source was the firm attitude the government towards the safety of the people from the infectious diseases threat. "All of us worked for the nation, the country and the Indonesian people. So this banning must be supported," he stressed again.

Health Minister Siti Fadilan Supari did not yet have results was contacted by SH [Sinar Harapan] for confirmation.

However the circle of the intelligence community estimated the closing NAMRU2 this was related to the taking of samples of Indonesians's blood illegally in hospitals in fact to the inhabitants's houses due to with the virus expansion of H5N1 in recent times.

"This banning action naturally from long before was carried out. Moreover America in the position that always hindered the improvement of the system regulation sharing the virus that was fought for by the Health Minister," said the former AURI intelligence Soekarno's government's time, Heru Atmojo

According to Heru in fact operation permission NAMRU2 has been finished several years ago, but still continued to operate in Indonesia. Several sides in Indonesia indeed still were maintaining them, because of the personal interests. "So their operation was illegal, this Closing was involved in the violation of the jurisdiction and the Indonesian sovereignty," stressed this former pilot.

Not that, a person intelligence senior that was other explained NAMRU2 took the sample of blood from all the infectious diseases sufferers in Indonesia from polio, malaria, dengue fever, anthrax, cholera, foot the elephant, the HIV/AIDS and other to the case of bird flu. "NAMRU2 has taken many samples of Indonesians's blood and was brought to America, was developed was the vaccine and the medicine and the possibility of biological weapons," he explained.
WIN

At this time America could have accepted the Indonesian proposal to disperse Global Influenza Surveilance Network (GISN) that was supervised by the jurisdiction of the American government but was in the body of WHO. In the name of WHO, GISN took all the viruses from the origin country and carried him to the American laboratory, one of them was the biological weapons laboratory in the Los Alamos. Apart from becoming biological weapons, viruses also were the vaccine and were sold again to the poor country, including Indonesia.

So Indonesia put forward a more transparent new system, was equal and just that was acknowledged as WHO Influenza Surveilance Network (WIN). In WIN will be put into effect by the material Transfer Agreement system (MTA). If having the sending of the virus, the country will from the virus know the use of this virus and got benefit sharing that was just from the country that took the virus. :tiphat: http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/berita/0804/10/sh05.html

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

This is the biggest mistake Supari has done.

Message to the Islamic countries monitering this site on this issue,

Seems some misinterpretation on this we will wait for some precisions.

Snowy

 

[lolo88]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

I know someone who has a communications source with US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. They have said this story is "false and misleading."

No, I don't know what that means, but I thought I would pass it on. When I saw the article earlier in another forum I passed it on and asked if anyone knew anything about it, as in WTF? That's the response I got.

Perhaps it means that Indo passed bad info to the Navy Times, quelle surprise. Personally, I'm rooting for the navy medicine guy.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

If this is indeed true then we are now truly operating in the dark when it comes to Indonesia. As this nation has been the hardest hit and has the longest disease generation (probable three generation virus spread last year), it is imperative the WHO and NAMRU have access. This not only benefits the rest of the world it also benefits Indonesia. I hope cooler heads prevail soon.
:yinyang:

Welcome Lolo88

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

I know someone who has a communications source with US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. They have said this story is "false and misleading."

No, I don't know what that means, but I thought I would pass it on. When I saw the article earlier in another forum I passed it on and asked if anyone knew anything about it, as in WTF? That's the response I got.

Perhaps it means that Indo passed bad info to the Navy Times, quelle surprise. Personally, I'm rooting for the navy medicine guy.

Thank lolo88,

I hope you are right.

Snowy

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

NAMRU is not a caritative institution. It is part of a foreign military establishment. It is not an indipendent laboratory of an international organization.
One should remind that before claims of 'insanity' of someone.
That's could be, however.
But if an indipendent - internationally supported - surveillance system without corporate influence was created even Indonesia and other countries with specific political troubles may partecipate with more engagement in fighting communicable diseases.
Despite these limitations, international community should not leave alone Indonesia and it is advisable the strenghtening of multilateral relations will be promptly reestablished.
In the past, rumors about some frictions between Indonesia and NAMRU were reported, and perhaps a certain grade of biopiracy could be the cause, at least in the mind of some local political leaders.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

NAMRU is an American naval research group. http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/January/20070125113122lcnirellep0.3603327.html

It is dedicated to both supporting our troops and in doing research benefiting the world at large.

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

NAMRU is an American naval research group. http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/January/20070125113122lcnirellep0.3603327.html

It is dedicated to both supporting our troops and in doing research benefiting the world at large.

IT IS NOT AN INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION!

No country would accept in its territory a foreign military unit to investigate the health of its citizens. Would USA accept on its soil an Iranian or Russian army unit to investigate an epidemic?

This is the work of international organization such as WHO (that hasn't the structures, of course), OIE, FAO and UN.

If these organization aren't credible remains the first culprit of today Indonesia-all the rest of world friction.

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Clearly, I respect your point of view and the work of the NAMRUs units but I think otherwise.
With this words, I close this unprofitable discussion about this event, because - perhaps - I lack of knowledge in this field.
My sources are only newspapers available in Italy and Internet research since 1997.
I remark only the need of a multilateral approach in international crisis, but it seems no advances are in the prospect, at least in the near future.

 

[JJackson]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

While I agree with Snowy that the NAMRU labs have been doing a great job and have so far managed to maintain an air of independence, Ironorehopper makes an excellent point. It is asking a lot of any country to accept a foreign military presence on their soil and given the US?s popularity in the Muslim world I would not like to be an Indonesian politician trying to explain why they are hosting a US naval presence. NAMRU-2 was invited in in the seventies when the US's stock was much higher; obviously things have changed radically in the last decade and it can not be a great surprise that the base is less welcome. It will probably not come as a great shock to find that my preferred solution is for the WHO?s member states to fund it to a level that it can provide some facilities of its own - avoiding the need to invite in States who would not be natural allies.

 

[gsgs]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

they needn't close it, surveilling it should be enough

no problem to have US-military in your country, as long as
they are operating under your command.

Exploring influenza should be in the interest of Indonesia
_and_ USA (and WHO and the rest of the world)

 

[Commonground]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

With all the diseases in Indonesia, I would think they would want our help.

Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2
Jakarta, Indonesia

Mission
The mission of the US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 (NAMRU-2) is to conduct research, development, test and evaluation in Tropical Medical and Infectious Diseases to maintain and enhance the health, safety, and readiness of Navy and Marine Corps personnel in the performance of peacetime and contingency missions in Southeast Asia and other tropical and subtropical regions.

Programs
Evaluation of new antimalarial agents or combinations of traditional antimalaria agents for the treatment and prevention of malaria in Indonesia.

Development of a malaria vaccine test site.

Development of dengue vaccine test site.

Determining the epidemiology of Hepatitis E Virus infections in Southeast Asia.

Identification of emerging infectious disease threat agents in Southeast Asia. This includes areas in Vietnam frequented by members of the Joint Task Force for Full Accounting in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

Development and evaluation of methods for the rapid identification of infectious disease threat agents such as those responsible for febrile diarrhea, sexually transmitted diseases, and AIDS.
http://www.nhrc.navy.mil/geis/sites/namru2.htm

Scientists from Indonesia Visit CEID
May 16, 2007
Indonesia is a hotbed of emerging infectious diseases, most notorious for
human H5N1 avian influenza infection. In collaboration with the Naval
Medical Research Unit No. 2 (NAMRU2) in Jakarta, Indonesia, last September the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases hosted three Indonesian ecologists from the Ministry of Health, to receive two weeks of influenza lab training. In addition, Dr. Shannon Putnam, program head of
the bacterial diseases program at NAMRU2, visited and gave a
seminar about his lab's international work on emerging pathogens in Asia. Putnam is a graduate of the UI Ph.D. program in epidemiology and an adjunctfaculty member in the department.
Story Source: CPH News Digest
http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/CEID/Center_news/CEID Summer 07 Newsletter.pdf

Banda Aceh ? a personal story By: Andrew Jeremijenko

Excerpt:
I also helped set up a public health laboratory which is run by NAMRU2 and LitBanKes. I work with them in Jakarta doing flu surveillance so they asked me to help while I was up in Banda Aceh. The trip was extremely busy. The hospital got me to cover nights as over the long weekend there were not enough doctors for that shift so sleep was a luxury item. It was a harder trip then the first. A few of the children I had treated a 9 year old boy, 9 year old girl and a 6 month old baby had died due to overwhelming infection. There was also a death of an elderly gentleman from severe lung infection after dirty water went into his lung. This was one of the reasons I assisted with the laboratory so we could grow the bacteria and see what antibiotics to use. We had just been treating them with broad spectrum antibiotics. Tsunami lung as the press called it was a difficult to treat disease and took a number of lives up to a month after the tsunami.
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cach...NAMRU2&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=safari

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

I think this is a case where everyone is right.

Who wants a foreign military in their ports?

No one.

Countries help each other frequently through a branch of their military. The navy hospital ships are an example. Much of this work is very appreciated worldwide. International help funded by all countries would be the preference. Unfortunately, like Ironorehopper says, this is not likely to occur soon. Most of us live in countries where, as individuals, we have little impact on the policies of our governments or international efforts. So what do we do about this?

We participate here at FT as a collective voice to the 140+ countries that view us.

We have recommended a 90 day stockpile of essential items per person for emergencies. No government has done this.

We publish breaking news on many emerging diseases, including H5N1, that is not readily available for world access in one venue. No government is as efficient as we are in doing this.

We are promoting alternative treatments for pandemic influenza since there is no proven safe and effective vaccine that will be available for the 6.8 billion people in the world. And anti-virals are in limited supply with some of them losing their effectiveness. No government is a leader in this area for pandemic influenza.

We are international help to our fellow citizens - with no guns, no military, no threat.


:yinyang:

 

[Oracle]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Until you see official confirmation from US DOD government spokesman, you might want to avoid speculative dialog on this topic.

 

[scottmcpherson]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

The Navy Times is a respectable publication. Its sources are pretty good.

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

Re: NAMRU banned from Indonesia

[Main message of this piece of news, I think is that: "If we haven't been successful in resolving the matter, I think it will be time for the world to just accept Indonesia's unwillingness to participate in the WHO influenza system and move on to other ways of making the world safer." See below. IOH]

HHS secretary blogs on impasse with Indonesia
Lisa Schnirring Staff Writer

Apr 17, 2008 (CIDRAP News) –

US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt, in Vietnam today on the second leg of a 10-day tour of Southeast Asia, revealed new details on his blog today about his talks with Indonesian officials on two controversial issues: the country's refusal to freely share H5N1 virus samples and the status of the US Navy's medical laboratory unit, NAMRU-2.

Leavitt is visiting Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore to discuss a host of issues, including import safety and collaborative efforts to halt the spread of infectious diseases such as avian influenza and HIV, according to an Apr 14 press release from the HHS.

The United States, recognizing the burdens Indonesia and Vietnam have faced in the fight against avian influenza, has provided technical assistance and funding to further efforts to identify and prevent the disease, the HHS said.

"By working together, we can improve the safety of food and other products and build a common defense against disease," Leavitt said in the press release. Leavitt has maintained a blog on the HHS Web site since August 2007, and the HHS has said he is the first cabinet secretary to use the online forum.

In early 2007, Indonesia announced it had stopped sharing H5N1 virus samples with the World Health Organization (WHO) to protest, in its view, that poorer developing countries that share samples will not have access to or afford the pandemic vaccines that pharmaceutical companies in developed nations will manufacture using the samples.

The US Navy's medical unit in Jakarta (NAMRU-2) is a WHO collaborating laboratory, and its status in the county has been uncertain since Indonesia stopped sharing its H5N1 samples. However, on Apr 10 Kyodo News Agency, a Japanese news service, reported that Indonesia's health ministry had banned NAMRU-2 from operating in the country.

Uncertain times for NAMRU-2
In his blog post, which he wrote while still in Indonesia but posted today, Leavitt said that NAMRU-2 can help any Southeast Asian country identify virus samples in the event of communicable disease outbreaks. He added that the laboratory has operated in Indonesia for decades; however, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Indonesia and the United States expired 2 years ago, and efforts to renew the agreement have been unsuccessful.

The United States also has a Navy medical unit in Cairo, Egypt, NAMRU-3, that also serves as a WHO reference laboratory and has been instrumental in analyzing H5N1 samples.

Indonesia's health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, recently ordered Indonesian institutions to stop sending tissue samples to NAMRU-2, because she believes the sharing is illegal without an MOU and a material transfer agreement, Leavitt wrote.

"Her action is obviously linked to her global initiative to seek specific benefits for sharing samples," he added.

Payment demand stalls virus-sharing talks
Leavitt wrote that he had useful talks with many of Indonesia's top federal officials, including its president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, though much of his time was spent discussing virus-sharing issues and the status of NAMRU-2 with Supari.

A WHO working group on virus sharing has been trying to hammer out a virus-sharing agreement between global health officials and developing countries, but has made little progress. The group last met in November 2007, and a smaller version of the group may meet again in May in advance of the WHO's World Health Assembly, according to previous reports.

Little progress was made on the question of whether countries that contribute virus samples should receive direct financial compensation, Leavitt said.

"The minister's main point is that what she wants should not be considered 'royalties' or 'compensation,'" he wrote. "What she says she wants is for the contributing countries to be eligible for some share of the value commercial companies create out of the influenza samples they provide."

Leavitt said he acknowledged Supari's legitimate concerns about her country's access to medicine and vaccines, but emphasized that health officials need to retain incentives that enable pharmaceutical companies to develop new countermeasures.

"I pointed out that technology is improving and might well hold solutions that we don't currently have," he wrote. "Once we are using cell-based methods of making vaccines, the capacity and cost will dramatically drop, which will change the entire equation."

However, Leavitt said linking sample sharing to payment would erode the world's ability to make any vaccines, "because the slope is slippery, and there will be no end to the demands."

Vaccine availability and sample sharing are both legitimate issues, he said. "And we must deal with them both, but we should not link [them]. World health should not be the subject of barter."

Countries set a 2-month time clock
Indonesia's coordinating minister Aburizal Bakrie suggested that the United States and Indonesia spend the next 2 months working on a solution to the impasse, Leavitt reported. He said he instructed his representative Bill Steiger and ambassador John Lange, the State Department's special representative for avian and pandemic influenza, to continue discussions with Indonesia.

Leavitt warned that, despite the new negotiations, the situation might never be resolved.

"If we haven't been successful in resolving the matter, I think it will be time for the world to just accept Indonesia's unwillingness to participate in the WHO influenza system and move on to other ways of making the world safer."
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http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/apr1708asia-jw.html
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