Deadly virus puts 100 species of Australia’s ‘isolated’ wildlife at risk of mass deaths
Updated ,first published
The deadly strain of bird flu that arrived in Australia last week is threatening a list of 100 native animal species, including birds, land and marine mammals, that state and federal government agencies are scrambling to save from mass die-offs.
Two birds in Australia have been confirmed infected with the deadly H5N1 virus. The brown skua and giant petrel flew from the sub-Antarctic region to southwestern Western Australia. Until the skua was found last Friday, Australia was the only continent free of the deadly virus.
The list of animals at risk includes: bird-eating birds of prey, including white-bellied sea eagles, strong owls, and wedge-tailed eagles; black swans with no defense against the virus; Australian sea lions; rare parrots, including small populations of orange-bellied and swift parrots; and scavenger-eating Tasmanian devils.
The risk of outbreaks in farm birds is also high and can lead to potentially devastating consequences. Inghams, Australia’s largest chicken meat producer, announced on Monday that it had locked down access to all its farms in Western Australia, even though they are all north of Perth and more than 700 kilometers from where the infected birds were found.
More than 100 million chickens have been killed in the United States when the H5N1 epidemic begins in 2022. Egg prices are expected to triple by 2025, making a significant contribution to inflation.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, who is responsible for biosecurity, and Environment Minister Murray Watt said on Monday that only two positive cases had been detected and there was no evidence of widespread deaths that would indicate an outbreak in Australia.
The virus has killed millions of birds worldwide, including seabirds, penguins, waterfowl and birds of prey. Additionally, colonies of some aquatic mammals, such as seals, have almost entirely disappeared.
Experts had warned that it was inevitable that the virus would spread to Australia through migratory birds. Now that it’s coming from the region beneath Antarctica, governments and experts say a severe outbreak is likely.
University of Queensland Professor Kirsty Short said there was a strong risk that a severe outbreak would eventually occur, and once it did it could be extremely difficult to prevent its spread.
“The risk of a future outbreak is moderate to high, but it is unknown whether it can be contained,” Short said.
There is no evidence that northern hemisphere birds brought the virus to Australia, but an infected skua and bird that landed in Western Australia last week appear to have brought the virus shortly after an outbreak emerged in the sub-Antarctic region.
“The game changer is being in Antarctica,” Short said.
Australia’s unique wildlife, which has evolved in isolation for millions of years, may be particularly vulnerable to H5N1. Australia’s flightless birds may pose greater risk; studies show that the virus can mutate into new strains in populations of these birds.
“We’ve seen in genetic studies that isolation can actually have an effect in terms of reducing your immune system or the breadth of your immune system. Species that evolve in isolation may not have that as a selective pressure, so that’s a concern,” Short said.
“We have evidence that flightless birds (emus, ostriches, kiwis) may actually play a role in the evolution of the virus and in driving change in the virus.”
“That’s one of the things we’re investigating right now.”
The Albanian government allocated $113 million to preparations to combat the H5N1 attack; Emphasis was placed on quickly detecting the epidemic and planning the response to limit its spread. This includes teams to quickly dispose of carcasses of infected animals to prevent further spread and prevent farmed poultry from mixing with wild birds.
Many of Australia’s birds and mammals are found nowhere else in the world, making the effects of H5N1 bird flu difficult to predict.
“Australia is home to more than 800 species of birds and 350 mammals. All our native birds and mammals are at risk from H5N1,” said Fiona Fraser, the federal government’s Threatened Species Commissioner.
Environmental groups praised these efforts to prepare for the virus but called for $200 million in additional funding to restore habitats and eradicate wild pests such as cats and pigs to help species survive in the event of an outbreak.
Chief veterinary officer Beth Cookson said it could be almost impossible to contain a future outbreak.
“It can be quite difficult to control; there aren’t many practical actions that can be taken to control it.” [the H5N1 virus] when it occurs in other populations.
Australia recently caught a police H7 bird flu epidemicIt is a relatively mild type of virus that does not pose a major threat to wildlife.
H5N1 bird flu hit South America in 2022, killing more than 30,000 South American sea lions, 17,000 southern elephant seal pups and an unknown number of porpoises, dolphins and otters, as well as at least 650,000 native birds.
It caused the deaths of more than 13,000 southern elephant seal chicks (three-quarters of those on the island) and gentoo penguins.
The public is encouraged to look for signs of bird flu in wild and domestic animals, such as sudden death or difficulty breathing, standing, walking or flying.
The government says people who see multiple sick or dead birds and other animals should not touch them but instead record their location and call 1800 675 888.
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Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
