Fears killer bird flu has reached Australian mainland
A single suspected case of bird flu has triggered fears that a deadly strain that has killed millions of animals worldwide has reached mainland Australia.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has confirmed that a single migratory wild bird has been identified in Western Australia with a suspected case of the disease.
But the minister said it was too early to confirm that it was the concerning H5N1 strain that had killed millions of birds worldwide, and further test results were expected on Saturday.
Mainland Australia is the only continent that has yet to detect the virulent strain.
“There is currently no evidence of any mass mortality or infection in poultry,” Ms Collins said.
“If H5 bird flu is confirmed, it would be concerning, but not unexpected given the global spread.”
The deadly strain of bird flu was first detected in Australia in October on World Heritage-listed Heard Island, about 4,000 km southwest of Perth.
Scientists who visited Heard Island estimated that 13,359 southern elephant seal pups died of disease out of a total population of 17,364; this number was more than three-quarters of the total.
Ms Collins insisted the arrival of the virus was inevitable and said the government was preparing for it as a result.
He downplayed fears it could devastate Australian farmers reeling from a fuel crisis caused by conflict in the Middle East.
“This is a single bird, a suspected case, and we are as prepared as any country can be,” Ms Collins said.
“We invested early, as we said we would, and those investments are now paying off… If this situation is detected, we will get there early.”
He added that the risk to human health would be extremely small.
State and territory representatives and industry experts will meet on Friday afternoon to discuss planning.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
