Australia "well prepared" for outbreak of H5N1 bird flu: environment minister

CANBERRA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia's authorities said on Monday that the country is as well prepared as possible for an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu after reporting the first confirmed case on the mainland.

The federal government on Saturday confirmed that a migratory brown skua that was found in southern Western Australia (WA) on June 14 had died from H5N1 avian influenza, making the mainland the final continent to have a confirmed case of the highly pathogenic strain.

Speaking on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Monday, Environment Minister Murray Watt said that the case was "not an unexpected development" and that authorities have spent two years intensively preparing for a potential local outbreak of the strain.

A second migratory bird, a giant petrel, was found sick in the same area of southern WA on Thursday and has also been tested for the H5N1 strain, with results still pending, but Watt said on Monday there has been no evidence of a more widespread outbreak or that the strain has affected poultry.

"If we were to have a widespread outbreak of this deadly strain, that would have a very significant impact on wildlife in Australia," he said.

"I can emphasize that we are as well prepared as we possibly could be for this, but it is a risk that we need to take seriously."

He said that members of the public had reported several instances of dead birds found in WA over the weekend to authorities and urged Australians to continue doing so. Enditem