(6 Apr 2006) SHOTLIST :
Sydney, Australia - recent
1. Westmead Millennium Institute building
2. Sign reading Westmead Millennium Institute
3. John Iredell, Associate Professor, walking through corridor
4. SOUNDBITE: (English), John Iredell, Associate Professor:
"The fear is that we won''t know what we''re dealing with until it actually arrives because at the moment we''re
talking about a strain that is affecting birds basically. The fear is that when it moves into humans, it may take off in a completely different way. And the way it will behave is yet unknown because we haven''t arrived at that point."
5. SOUNDBITE: (English), John Iredell, Associate Professor:
"We need to know what we''re dealing with as quickly as possible so we can be as efficient as possible because part of the problem with these big epidemics is that they tend to paralyse your infrastructure. They overwhelm it."
6. Various of the Centre for Immunology building
7. Close up of sign reading Centre for Immunology
8. Professor Keith Stanley working on machine
9. Various of biohazard warning signs
10. SOUNDBITE: (English), Keith Stanley, Professor at Corbett Research:
"We could set up this equipment in a laboratory located in an airport or a pathology lab close by. Then it would be possible to screen hundreds of passengers from a jet for instance - if that
were required."
11. Various of portable robotics
12. Close up of sample being taken out of portable robotics kit
13. Scientist opening portable robotics kit
14. SOUNDBITE: (English), Keith Stanley, Professor at Corbett Research:
"We use the robotics to prepare the diagnostics, and each diagnostic has got positions for many different samples, and we can then supply these to the site on which the flu virus will be tested."
15. Stanley putting multiple sample wheel in portable assay (diagnosis) kit
16. Close up of assay kit
17. SOUNDBITE: (English), Keith Stanley, Professor at Corbett Research:
"It uses the fluorescent absorbance of DNA in the presence of a fluorescent dye and each of our assays has got specific components which allow us to distinguish different flu types in each of these tubes."
18. Close up of portable storage wheel
19. SOUNDBITE: (English), Keith Stanley, Professor at Corbett Research:
"We can put it into an assay for either 72 individual tests for 72 individual people or alternatively we could put in one measurement for 72 different genes, genes from different viruses and other pathogens and so on."
20. Stanley putting samples in portable assay
21. SOUNDBITE: (English), Keith Stanley, Professor at Corbett Research:
" It might mean you''ve got an extra three or four hours on your journey but if that means you''re diagnosed early and don''t suffer the consequences of bird flu then that would be worthwhile."
22. Various of portable assay kit
SUGGESTED LEAD IN:
Australian researchers claim to have discovered a method of testing hundreds of people for avian flu within hours.
Their diagnostic test kits are portable, can give results of testing within hours and can identify the mutation of new strains of the virus.
STORYLINE:
World governments are pouring millions of dollars into studying bird flu in an effort to prepare for the possibility of a human form of the infection.
Australian scientists are putting their efforts into being able to detect the virus in large numbers of people more quickly.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
SUPERCAPTION: John Iredell, Associate Professor
When the SARS virus spread across Asia, in 2003, crude temperature monitoring devices were set up in airports around the world.
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