Australian authorities urge vigilance against bird flu

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 21 Jan 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Quarantine surveillance at airports, mail centres and seaports has been stepped up in response to the bird flu epidemic in Asia.

The highly infectious avian influenza is being blamed for the deaths of more than a dozen people and has killed millions of chickens in Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) spokesman Carson Creigh says inspectors are particularly concerned about people trying to bring in poultry products from Asia.

'I was at Sydney airport a few days ago and was surprised at the amount of particularly chicken and duck meat that people were attempting to bring into the country,' he said.

'That's considered to be something of a risk to introducing avian influenza or exotic strains of avian influenza into Australia.'

Meanwhile the Federal Department of Agriculture says while the risk of an outbreak of avian bird flu is low, producers should be vigilant.

State agriculture departments have been warned to look out for suspicious chicken deaths, while chicken meat growers and egg producers are being told to make sure farms meet industry bio-security standards.

The Australian Egg Corporation's James Kellaway says farmers need to be aware that migratory birds can spread the disease.

'One of the ways that this particular disease can spread, because it is highly contagious, is through migratory birds,' he said.

'Water fowl is a key species that can carry the disease and as a result water is a critical control point, dare I say it, as an impute to farms for taking extreme care.'

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