Aussies helping the fight against bird flu

Tuesday, 21 March, 2006

CSIRO scientists have boosted efforts to help stop the spread of bird flu in Asia and thereby reduce the risk of it reaching Australia.

Scientists from CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong, Victoria, have collaborated with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to provide crucial training in diagnosing the disease in birds.

There have now been 175 confirmed human cases of H5N1 avian influenza resulting in 96 deaths, with the majority occurring in Asia.

Senior CSIRO virologist, Paul Selleck, recently returned from two workshops in China and Pakistan where he trained veterinarians, scientists and laboratory workers in how to accurately diagnose H5N1 avian influenza (AI).

"For some of the countries involved, these workshops were their first experience of AI diagnostic testing," Selleck said. "Countries with prior experience will now be able to diagnose AI faster and have greater confidence in the results.

Selleck provided training in how to collect and process specimens, how to diagnose highly pathogenic AI, the safety issues involved in handling H5N1, and how to ensure quality control of diagnostic tests.

"We were chosen by FAO to deliver this vital training because we have a strong track record of working with animal diseases in Asia. Importantly, AAHL is one of just six world animal health organisation reference laboratories for avian influenza globally and provides us with the capacity to support other countries' efforts to establish laboratories and a diagnostic capability.

"We will be travelling to Thailand in a couple of weeks to train people from countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam. Once the round of training is complete, AAHL will continue to supply the reagents necessary for diagnostic testing and provide ongoing technical support."

An important outcome from the FAO-sponsored training is the development of a strong network of veterinary laboratories throughout Asia.

"The hope is that these laboratories will forward specimens to us in Australia for further characterisation of the AI virus," Selleck said. "This will allow us to monitor what viruses are out there and follow the antigenic drift or mutation of the H5N1 strain."

Selleck said that by working in Asia, Australian scientists will gain experience with the disease in the field and in using our diagnostic tests, improving our preparedness to deal with an outbreak if one ever occurred here.

He said that AAHL has also been busy with AI diagnostic work in Australia. "During the past six months, we have tested several thousand samples from wild birds as part of the Australian Government's extensive surveillance program and are testing 15-20 specimens each week from sick birds. So far we have not found any evidence of H5N1 in Australia," he said.

AAHL is an important component in Australia's national response to animal disease emergencies. The nation's preparedness to deal with an avian influenza outbreak was recently tested in Exercise Eleusis '05, a disease simulation exercise held late last year.

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