Bird flu no threat to Australia: medical chief

Aug 31, 2011
(Xinhua)

CANBERRA -- Australia's new chief medical officer, Professor Chris Baggoley, on Wednesday said Australian should not be worried about reports that a mutant strain of the deadly bird flu virus is spreading across Asia and beyond.

On Monday, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said a mutant strain of the deadly avian influenza virus was spreading in Asia and issued a warning that the bird flu could spread from poultry to humans. It urged "heightened readiness and surveillance" as the mutant strain posed "unpredictable risks to human health."

But Professor Baggoley, who took office on Tuesday, said Australia is well served by strict testing and customs regimes, adding that avian migration patterns also mean infected birds are highly unlikely to arrive in Australia.

"I don't think we should be worried," Prof Baggoley told Sky News.

"The country and the Australian government is certainly vigilant in relation to bird flu."

Prof. Baggoley insisted the H5N1 virus remains overwhelmingly a disease of birds and it is very uncommon for humans to catch it. It is also exceedingly rare for humans to spread it among themselves.

He said that even if bird flu did arrive and affected humans, Australia is ready to respond to any new and significant developments in bird flu.

"Australia tests migratory wild birds, looking for H5N1, and has been doing this for some years and has never found it," he said.

"On the human side of things, Australia has been preparing for a possible outbreak of H5N1 since 2004.

"We've got the laboratory capacity to diagnose influenza; we've got arrangements in place for a rapid production of an H5N1 vaccine for humans, and we've got ready access to antivirals."

There have been no outbreaks of bird flu in Australia to date.

The UN said the latest human death from bird flu occurred earlier this month in Cambodia, which has registered eight cases of human infection this year, all of them fatal.

H5N1 has infected 565 people since it first appeared in 2003, killing 331.

Editor: An