June 6, 2006

Asia-Pacific nations hold bird flu exercise in Australia

Officials from Asia-Pacific nations tested their ability to respond to a human pandemic virus derived from bird flu during an exercise in Australia's capital on Tuesday (Jun 6), the government said.

The hypothetical scenario involved human-to-human transmission of a virus that mutated from a strain of bird flu and spread quickly across the Asia-Pacific region, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said.

Officials from 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum governments attended a briefing on the exercise in Canberra, he said.

The exercise involved officials from relevant government agencies around the region - spanning eight time zones - making real-time decisions and sharing information based on a hypothetical scenario, he said. There were no field operations involved.

"The simulation is designed to test and strengthen emergency communication across the Asia-Pacific region in the event of a global human influenza outbreak," Ruddock said in a statement.

"This is the first exercise in a series that will prepare the emergency management sector for a large-scale medical emergency," he said.

The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 127 people worldwide since late 2003 but it remains difficult for humans to catch.