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GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organization on Wednesday adopted an interim deal on bird flu virus sample sharing, temporarily resolving a dispute that was threatening efforts to prevent a global pandemic, a senior official said.

The 193 member states in the agency's assembly approved a resolution on sharing viruses and access to flu vaccines without a vote.

"Countries have agreed to share viruses until another mechanism is set up," WHO transmissible diseases chief David Heymann said.

"This is a very important commitment by the 193 countries," he told journalists.

Indonesia -- the country most affected by H5N1 bird flu this year -- had stopped sending viruses to foreign laboratories until recently and demanded changes to the global flu surveillance system to ensure developing countries get a fair deal.

Sample sharing allows confirmation of suspected human cases of bird flu by one of eight WHO reference laboratories around the world. The step is regarded as crucial to detect emergence of a possible pandemic strain of human flu.

It is also an essential component for research on vaccines.