Suspected case of bird flu detected in Australia

The first suspected case of the devastating H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in a migratory bird in south-west Western Australia.

Australia was the last continent to remain free of the virus, but Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, who is responsible for biosecurity, announced on Friday afternoon that a dead migratory bird in south-west Western Australia had tested positive. Further testing is under way to confirm.

Collins said if infection is confirmed, “this will be sobering but not unexpected, given the spread globally”.

She would not confirm what species the infected bird was. Collins will convene a meeting of state and territory governments on the potential outbreak this afternoon.

The H5 virus is a particularly deadly strain that experts warn threatens the survival of many endangered native bird species and some mammals like sea lions, which have not been exposed to the virus. Black swans are among the species considered particularly vulnerable to the virus.

There is no evidence that H5 will start a human pandemic.

It was considered inevitable that virus would hit Australia, as migratory birds in the northern hemisphere have been identified carrying H5.

Australia recently copped an outbreak of H7 bird flu, which a relatively mild strain of the virus that does not pose a major threat to wildlife.

The more deadly H5 strain has already spread across the northern hemisphere. It arrived in South America in 2022 and has killed more than 30,000 South American sea lions, 17,000 southern elephant seal pups and unknown numbers of porpoises, dolphins and otters, as well as at least 650,000 native birds.

Migratory birds probably brought H5 to Heard Island, an Australian remote territory in Antarctica, where it was first detected last year. Researchers estimate more than 13,000 seal pups were killed by the virus, which is more than three-quarters of new births on the island.

Invasive Species Council policy director Carol Booth said the suspected case signalled likely devastating impacts on Australian wildlife.

“We desperately hope this is not the realisation of our worst dreams. The recently reported mass deaths of elephant seals on Heard Island were a harbinger of the potential catastrophe for Australian wildlife if the virus has made it to mainland Australia.

“If H5 is confirmed, the government’s own risk assessment predicts potentially catastrophic impacts on native birds, while the virus’s increasing ability to infect mammals raises the prospect of severe impacts on marine mammals and other wildlife.”

Wildlife cannot be treated once infected with the virus.

The Albanese government committed $113 million to preparations to deal with an H5 incursion, with an emphasis on teams to swiftly remove carcasses of infected animals to prevent further spread and stopping farmed poultry from mixing with wild birds.

There may also be potential to shield endangered species, for example by taking some of those most at risk into captivity to ensure species survival.

The federal agriculture department increased its efforts in the field, with teams out in wetlands, near dams and even at water treatment plants where migratory birds congregate, particularly in northern Australia, watching for species known to fly between H5 hotspots and Australia, and taking blood and other biological samples to test for the virus.

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