Zoonotic diseases to challenge Australia

Emerging zoonotic diseases, those that can pass from animals to humans, and the risk of a flu pandemic pose a challenge for health authorities, warns Australia's chief doctor.

Dr Brendan Murphy, Chief Medical Officer at the Australian Department of Health, will address the Communicable Diseases Control Conference 2017 in Melbourne on Tuesday and says despite the "very strong" systems in place to prevent and respond to communicable diseases both international and local challenges remain.

"These include the risks of pandemic influenza, antimicrobial resistance and new emerging zoonotic diseases," Dr Murphy said.

About 75 per cent of new human disease are zoonotic and include anthrax, the hendra virus, avian influenza and rabies.

A recent study published in journal Nature showed that bats carry the highest risk of zoonotic transmission, followed by primates and rodents.