Bird flu reaches every continent as Australia confirms first H5N1 case

The first case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in Australia, meaning the virus has now spread to every continent.

Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said the virus was found in a single seabird, a brown skua, near Esperance in Cape Le Grand National Park on Western Australia’s south coast.

Australia’s Department for Primary Industries and Regional Development said it was “responding as part of a nationally coordinated plan with the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and stakeholders around the world.” [Western Australia] “To reduce the impact of this disease.”

The epidemic in the USA led to the death of millions of birds and caused price increases and shortages in markets, especially eggs.

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Spread to humans is rare.

“We all knew we wouldn’t be rid of bird flu forever,” Australian Federal Minister for Agriculture Julie Collins said at a news conference on Saturday.

Western Australian agriculture minister Jackie Jarvis told a press conference on Friday: “As a result of WA’s established early detection system, appropriate action was taken, including isolating the bird and collecting samples for testing.”

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He added: “This shows that Australia and Western Australia’s preparedness measures are working. We are pleased to see that the surveillance and reporting system is working as intended, with the bird being reported to DPIRD for further investigation.”

A brown skua stands on a mossy stone on Macquarie Island in Sub-Antarctica, administered by Tasmania, Australia. (Auscape/Universal Images Group)

On Saturday, Jarvis said further testing had confirmed the strain, which he said was consistent with bird flu found in remote areas on Australia’s Heard Island and the McDonald Islands near Antarctica, which has devastated wildlife there.

Last year, nearly 13,000 of 17,000 elephant seal pups died there just a few months after exposure.

The epidemic in the USA led to the death of millions of birds and caused price increases and shortages in markets, especially eggs. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The islands are wildlife sanctuaries.

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“Importantly, there has been no detection in poultry and there is no evidence of mass mortality,” Jarvis said of the mainland case.

A second case of migratory birds is also suspected near Esperance.

Reuters contributed to this report.