This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: When a suspected case of H5 bird flu arrived in Australia, CSIRO scientists knew the first hours would matter. Working through the weekend inside Australia's high-containment laboratory, the team confirmed the virus and rapidly decoded the genetic clues governments needed to respond.
Their response was built on years of preparation, specialist expertise and people ready to act when a virus Australia had long watched finally reached its shores. On a Thursday afternoon in June, Dr. Vidya Bhardwaj received an email from Western Australia's animal health laboratory.
A sick migratory bird had tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (H5 bird flu). This is the strain of bird flu that has caused mass animal deaths around the world over the past few years but had yet to reach Australian shores. "The states are our frontline detectors," explained Bhardwaj from CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP).
"When they identify something of concern, our role as Australia's animal health reference laboratory is to confirm what they've found and provide the detailed information needed for decision-making." ACDP combines cutting-edge science, rigorous quality controls and international collaboration. Most people are familiar with PCR tests, as they're commonly used to test for viruses in people: A sample is added to the test, and if a virus or bacterium is present, a reaction will occur, indicating a positive result. These tests provide a quick answer, which is very important, but they provide no extra detail.
If you imagine a virus's genome like a book written with a mix of four letters—A, C, G, T (or sometimes U)—PCR tests are set up to look for a short, specific phrase in that book. "With PCR tests, all it will tell you is if that part of the gene is there or not. Your test has to be well designed to only give positives for the specific virus that you're looking for.
The test needs to be specific. "For example, if your test uses a phrase of genetic code that is in H5 bird flu, but that same phrase can also be found in the common cold, your PCR will show positive for either of those viruses," Bhardwaj explained. Knowing H5 bird flu would likely one day reach Australian shores, ACDP researchers developed an additional PCR test that shows not only a positive result for H5 bird flu but specifically identifies the strain found in sub-Antarctic colonies late last year.
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