Migrants could bring bird flu to Australia

CANBERRA, Australia, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Australian health officials say migrating birds could import avian influenza from Southeast Asia.

Health Minister Tony Abbott told The Australian the risk is low because poultry farmers in Australia keep their flocks under controlled conditions. But he said the "weak link" is small farmers who produce free-range poultry.

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service monitors migrants on the continent's northern and western coasts to determine if wild birds are carrying the virus.

In the most recent outbreak, three cases of infection with the HN51 virus have been found in humans, and two of the victims are dead. The most recent person to be diagnosed with the disease is a 9-year-old boy in Indonesia.