Update: 3:08PM A leading environmental expert says the route for bird flu could be closer in the Pacific region than imagine before as the Australian islands just three kilometres from the Papua New Guinea coastline are a major bio-security threat, reports Post Courier.
Dr Rohan Clarke, of the Deakin University, has made several field trips to the Torres Strait to take samples from birds and study their migration.
His research project is looking at rates and spread of avian malaria among birds in the region, with the aim of using this information to predict the way other diseases might travel throughout birds in Australia.
"Avian malaria is a common bird affliction. Although it is similar to human malaria, it doesnt affect people," Dr Clarke told Pacnews.
During several trips to the Torres Strait, the research team has gathered 900 samples from different bird species, which will now be subject to molecular screening.
However, he said blood-smears done on location showed a high prevalence of malaria infection about 30 per cent making it an ideal study in disease transmission.
Dr Clarke said the Torres Strait is a major migration pathway for bush birds in Australia those smaller birds which live in foliage.
"We are talking hundreds and thousands of birds moving back and forward across the strait each year," he said.
"We can use this information to see how bird diseases might move around different areas and it has implications for our understanding of how bird flu might spread.
"If we are to get any major disease incursions into Australia, it is likely to come through this pathway."
