# 2116
I've read the following report several times, and I come away confused each time.
The story purports to say that a world renown immunologist, Professor Peter Doherty, co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize, is claiming that Australia is safe from the H5N1 virus.
I assume he means from migratory birds or the poultry trade, but this report hardly makes that clear.
First the article, then some headscratching.
Bird flu virus 'unlikely to reach Australia'
An international conference in Brisbane has been told that it is unlikely a deadly strain of the bird flu virus will ever reach Australia.
It is the first time Australia has hosted the World Poultry Congress, with more than 2,000 delegates attending the first day.
Immunologist and Nobel prize-winner Peter Doherty says although the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has killed 240 people overseas, Australia's dry climate and isolation will help prevent the virus entering the country.
"It's not something we have to worry about," he said.
But virus expert Dr Andrew Turner says there is still a slight risk.
"We have to be prepared, it may not be H5N1 which starts the pandemic - there are other viruses circulating in birds at the moment," he said.
However he says Australia's strict quarantine system is helping keep bird flu out of the country.
An inquiry into last year's horse flu outbreak blamed weak quarantine procedures for the spread of the virus.
Dr Turner says poultry is monitored more closely than horses.
"The restrictions on birds coming in, poultry genetics coming in, are much much stronger than horses," he said.
"It's a very strict quarantine regime and they come from birds in very highly protected flocks overseas."
The conference ends on Friday.
When I first saw the headline (which are often notoriously bad indicators of a story's content), I assumed this report was on the likelihood (or not) of migratory birds (or the poultry trade) carrying the H5N1 virus to Australia.
I still think so.
Unfortunately, it is hard to tell that from this muddled report. The reporter mentions human cases in the same sentence that says Professor Doherty believes Australia's dry climate and isolation will help prevent the virus entering the country.
If he is simply talking about migratory birds, or the poultry trade, then this certainly gives the wrong impression. It would have been nice to have a direct quote from Professor Doherty, rather than the reporter's paraphrasing.
The inclusion of Dr Andrew Turner's quote that - "We have to be prepared, it may not be H5N1 which starts the pandemic - there are other viruses circulating in birds at the moment." - further confuses matters, as it is unclear in what context this statement was made.
Since this story comes out of the World Poultry Congress, and Professor Doherty clearly references Australia's dry climate and isolation, I have to assume he was talking about H5N1 in birds.
Dr. Turner's response that Australia's strict quarantining process is keeping bird flu out of the country is further evidence that this discussion was about birds, not pandemic flu.
While I've seen far more egregious reporting on pandemic issues before, this report is ambiguous enough to deserve dissection.
To the lay public `bird flu', of course, is the pandemic threat - even though is really refers to one of a number of avian influenza infections in birds, not to pandemic influenza.
The debate over whether migratory birds or the poultry trade will ever introduce the H5N1 virus into Australia is above my pay grade. I'll let the experts battle that one out.
Of greater concern to me is the generally poor quality of reporting on bird flu and pandemic flu around the world. I've called attention to this sort of thing in the past.
Far too often reports are merely press releases in disguise or thinly veiled propaganda with no critical analysis. Statements are often printed as fact, and never questioned.
Should a pandemic erupt, every newspaper reporter, and every talking head on local, national, and cable news shows will need to become instant `experts' on pandemic flu.
Good Information, delivered responsibly, will be vital during a crisis.
As it stands, I see only a handful of pandemic knowledgeable reporters out there.
People like Helen Branswell of the Canadian Press, Maggie Fox of Reuters, Jason Gale of Bloomberg, Emmi Fitri of the Jakarta Post, Robin McDowell of AP, Maryn McKenna, Lisa Schnirring and Robert Roos at CIDRAP, and perhaps a dozen others who really have a handle on the subject.
News organizations, including newspapers and local and cable newscasters, should seriously consider holding remedial classes for their reporters on pandemic influenza. If they already have, it certainly doesn't show.
A severe pandemic, should one come, will be one of the biggest news story of the century.
It would seem incumbent upon news organizations to try to get it right.
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