Australia detects first case of contagious H5 bird flu

SYDNEY: Scientists have detected the H5 strain of bird flu in Australia for the first time, the country’s agriculture minister said on Saturday, meaning the highly contagious variant has now spread to every continent.

Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of Australia Julie Collins told a press conference the disease had been found in a migratory sea bird, a brown skua, in remote Western Australia, and the result confirmed by the national science agency.

Samples from another sick bird, a giant petrel found in the same area, had also shown a suspected positive result, she said.

Australia was previously the only continent where the H5 strain, which can devastate poultry and wild bird populations, had not been detected.

“Whilst disappointing, this is not unexpected, given the global spread of the H5 bird flu,” Collins told reporters in Canberra.

“I can confirm there is still no evidence of any mass mortalities at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in any poultry,” she said.

An emergency meeting of animal health and agriculture officials has been held to consider a national response.

“We all knew we couldn’t be bird flu-free forever,” Collins added.

The H5 strain has caused severe disease and high death rates in poultry, wild birds and affected mammals across the globe.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday the detection of the case was concerning, and that his government would take measures seeking to contain the spread of the disease.

“This is something that has happened through migratory birds, and has happened by definition around the world, and this is why we are preparing for this,” he said.

The wild birds most affected by the H5 strain include waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds and birds of prey.

Marine mammals have also been affected, with some detections in other animals like cats, goats, alpacas and pigs.

‘Population-level impacts’

There has been concern that the deadly disease could add to the extinction risks faced by Australian fauna, many of which are unique to the vast continent.

Almost half of Australia’s wild bird species, and 83% of its mammals, are found nowhere else.

Australia’s Threatened Species Commissioner Fiona Fraser said on Saturday there was a plan to protect 35 species by boosting captive breeding.

Among them, the Tasmanian devil, black swan, little penguin and Australian sea lion are at particular risk from bird flu, she said.

“There could clearly be population-level impacts for our species,” Fraser said.

The confirmed case was detected in a wilderness area 630 kilometres (391 miles) southeast of the city of Perth on the west coast.

Officials said they are investigating if the disease arrived in Australia via birds migrating from the sub-Antarctic.

On Thursday, Australian scientists said the H5 bird flu strain had killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on the remote Heard and McDonald Islands, one of Australia’s external territories in the sub-Antarctic.