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Air travel would grind to a halt in pandemic: official

International air travel would virtually stop if bird flu triggered a lethal human pandemic in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia's health minister said yesterday ahead of an international forum on the global threat.

Health Minister Tony Abbott did not directly respond to questions on whether Australia would expel foreigners, close its ports or accept "flu refugees" in the event of a pandemic in Indonesia -- where bird flu has killed four people this year.

"If there is a pandemic, international travel will almost cease I suspect for a significant period of time," Abbott told Ten Network television. "Regardless of what border controls countries might put on, there will be very few people who'll be wanting to travel."

Asked whether Australia would provide refuge to people attempting to flee the flu in their own countries in the region, Abbott suggested those most at risk would be too poor to relocate.

"I don't believe the kind of people who will be the most at risk in countries like Indonesia ... are people who would be clamoring on the door at our airport," he said.

Abbott was speaking before Australia hosts an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum of health and disaster officials in the east coast city of Brisbane today to coordinate the international response to a human pandemic that could result from the virulent H5N1 strain of the bird flu mutating into a form easily transmitted between humans.

H5N1 has already killed at least 62 people after jumping from sick birds as well as millions of poultry in Asia since 2003.
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