JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s decision to withhold samples of its bird flu virus from the World Health Organisation has helped raise awareness about the need to develop an affordable pandemic vaccine, a WHO official said yesterday.The country hardest-hit by bird flu is worried that large drug companies will use its H5N1 strain to make vaccines that will be too expensive for developing nations in the event of a global pandemic that could kill millions.

Jakarta triggered a storm of criticism earlier this month when it said it would withhold samples of its bird flu virus from WHO unless an agreement was reached on commercial development of a vaccine.

“Indonesia’s leadership alerted the international community to the needs of developing countries to benefit from sharing virus samples, including access to quality pandemic vaccine at affordable prices,” said Dr. David Heymann, a top WHO bird flu official.

He made the comments after high-level talks yesterday in the Indonesian capital with Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari and other senior government officials about the vaccine row.

They said after the five-hour meeting that selected countries in the Asia and Pacific region would meet in March to identify mechanisms that would help ensure equitable access to influenza vaccine and its production.

“Until then, Indonesia will not share it,” Supari said after the meeting.

Several countries are developing vaccines to protect against H5N1, the strain of bird flu responsible for 166 human deaths worldwide, more than one-third of them in Indonesia. The virus remains essentially an animal disease, but experts fear the virus may mutate into a form easily spreadable between humans.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, is seen as a potential hotspot for that to happen because of its high density of people and chickens.

The government’s decision to withhold the vaccine was a major departure from the WHO’s existing virus-sharing system, where bird flu viruses are freely shared with the global community for public health purposes, including vaccine and antiviral development.

Some experts said they sympathised with Indonesia, but nevertheless warned the move could jeopardise the world’s access to a pandemic vaccine.

Supari, the health minister, said she felt it was important to take a stand.