Bird flu no threat to Australia: medical chief

 　　CANBERRA, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- 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 influenza¹ virus was spreading in Asia and issued a warning that the bird flu could spread from poultry² 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 migration³ 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 vigilant⁴ in relation to bird flu."

　　Prof. Baggoley insisted the H5N1 virus remains⁵ overwhelmingly a disease of birds and it is very uncommon⁶ 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 affected⁷ humans, Australia is ready to respond to any new and significant developments in bird flu.

　　"Australia tests migratory⁸ 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 vaccine⁹ 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, killing¹⁰ 331.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

9 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。