Indonesia said on Tuesday it would immediately resume sharing samples of its deadly H5N1 bird flu strain. It came to an agreement with the World Health Organisation, scientists and donors on a framework through which developing countries will receive greater access to vaccines for non-seasonal viruses, including bird flu.

After two days of talks in Jakarta, samples will now be sent only to four WHO collaborating laboratories, which will do diagnostic tests on them, update pandemic risk assessments and produce vaccine seeds.