Lastly, consideration should be given to the limitations of the current study. The main limitation is that the study was conducted using telephone interviews which may have introduced selection bias. However, residential phone coverage in Australia remains high [17] , and a large number of studies on SARS and avian influenza have utilized this method. Also, risk perception and protective behaviours are likely to be mediated by a number of factors in addition to those identified in this study. Factors such as anxiety, risk perception of others, media, and recent events such as the current swine flu pandemic are all factors likely to affect risk perception. However, despite these limitations the results of this study suggest that it may be appropriate to direct risk communication strategies to individuals living in urban populations and individuals with good self-rated health, which may result in an increased likelihood of appropriate protective responses if an influenza pandemic was to occur. Data in this study further suggest that in contexts where pandemic influenza is generally not regarded as a high threat by the population, messages highlighting actions individuals can take to prepare for a pandemic influenza should be directed to households with higher incomes, households which do not speak a language other than English, and individuals above the age of 24 years. Finally, data from this study provide an Australian population baseline against which factors associated with risk perception related to outbreaks of pandemic influenza, both current and future, can be compared. Blow Flies Were One of the Possible Candidates for Transmission of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus during the 2004 Outbreaks in Japan The 2003-2004 H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in Japan were the first such outbreaks in 79 years in Japan. Epidemic outbreaks have been occurring in Southeast Asia, with the most recent in 2010. Knowledge of the transmission route responsible for the HPAI outbreaks in these countries remains elusive. Our studies strongly suggested that field and laboratory studies focusing on mechanical transmission by blow flies should be considered to control H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks, in particular in epidemic areas, where there are high densities of different fly species throughout the year. In this paper, we review these field and laboratory entomological studies and discuss the possibility of blow flies transmitting H5N1 viruses. The H5N1 subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A virus has frequently infected wild and domestic ducks in Asia, causing huge economic damage to both poultry farms and governments in the affected countries. Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans, but the 1997 outbreak of the H5N1 virus in Hong Kong [1, 2] alerted the medical community that some subtypes of avian influenza viruses include highly pathogenic strains that can affect humans. In this influenza virus outbreak, there were 6 deaths in the 18 human cases caused by the H5N1 subtype [3] . As of August 2, 2010, WHO has identified 502 human cases of H5N1 influenza around the world, and 298 of these were fatal [4] . In particular, H5N1 outbreaks have occurred recently in Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Therefore, H5N1 influenza virus can cause serious public health problems in birds and humans and is one of the most infectious avian diseases transmissible to humans.