Bird flu has reached Victoria and more wildlife deaths loom. How bad could it get? | Bird flu
Australia has entered a new phase in the fight against the deadly H5N1 bird flu epidemic; Authorities confirmed local transmission had occurred on Wednesday, and Victoria confirmed its first case of the highly virulent strain on Thursday.
“This is the first time we have had a situation suggestive of local transmission,” federal minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry Julie Collins said after 11 suspicious detections in South Australian birds were reported on Wednesday afternoon.
“Given that there is some local transmission, we would expect to see increased evidence and wildlife deaths,” he said. “This slight change in the situation will be disappointing for many, but it is certainly not unexpected as it was the last continent to detect H5 bird flu.”
On Thursday morning, South Australia reported 13 more cases of great crested terns.
Authorities now believe that transmission of the H5 strain is occurring locally; What does this mean for Australia’s wildlife and how bad could things get?
What is the current status of H5N1 bird flu in Australia?
On Thursday, South Australian authorities announced 13 new detections of suspected bird flu in great crested terns; these include five cases in Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island, home to an endangered population of Australian sea lions.
Victoria also detected its first case of the virus in a greater crested tern in Portland. When the new cases are confirmed there will be a total of 41 cases in Australia.
Agriculture minister Julie Collins said the Emergency Animal Disease Advisory Committee, made up of federal, state and territory officials, met on Wednesday and agreed “some local transmission has occurred among a number of resident great crested terns in South Australia”.
Australia’s chief veterinary officer, Dr. Beth Cookson said genetic sequencing showed that all confirmed cases detected to date were associated with sub-Antarctic strains of the virus.
Clare Scriven, SA’s minister for primary industries, said earlier on Wednesday: “This is worrying but not unexpected. We knew when bird flu arrived in Australia it would eventually spread. It has spread to every other continent around the world.”
To date, H5 has not been detected in the poultry or agricultural industries in Australia. “The risk to human health remains low,” Collins said.
How might bird flu affect wildlife on Kangaroo Island?
Six of the bird flu detections on Kangaroo Island were in Seal Bay, home to the country’s third largest population of Australian sea lions. Environmentalists have expressed concern about the sea lion population here.
Alexia Wellbelove, campaign director for the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), said Australian sea lions were “currently on the front lines of a potential wildlife crisis”.
Approximately 80% of the Australian sea lion population is found in South Australia; The endangered mammal’s population has declined by 60% in four decades, with the remaining number around 12,000.
“In South America, this virus killed 30,000 sea lion pups in just six months after transmission from birds to marine mammals,” Wellbelove said. “On our own Heard Island, it has caused the deaths of more than 13,000 elephant seal pups in a single season… Now we face the real possibility that similar devastation could occur in the homeland of a species already on the brink.”
Beach tours at Seal Bay have been temporarily paused to keep people separate from the “very vulnerable” animal population and reduce the risk of spreading infection, Scriven said.
What can be done to stop the spread of bird flu?
Unfortunately not many. Cookson said on Wednesday: “We know from experience overseas that once the virus becomes more prevalent in wild bird populations, it will not be possible to prevent losses of vulnerable wildlife in the natural environment.”
Authorities said they had been expecting H5N1 to arrive in Australia via migratory birds for “several years”. They will continue to focus on surveillance to confirm where the virus is circulating and “mitigate impacts where possible.”
Collins said the federal government has invested more than $113 million to prepare for the arrival of the virus. “We have also released an additional $24 million by working with states and territories.”
Without listing specific animals, Cookson said the government was taking “a range of actions to protect high priority species, including site- and species-specific planning”. There will also be a focus on protecting captive-bred populations and implementing farm biosecurity measures to “limit contact between wild birds and poultry.”
Groups including AMCS and the Invasive Species Council have called on the federal government to establish a $200 million national wildlife resilience fund “focused on emergency protection and recovery of our most at-risk species.”
How bad could bird flu be in Australia?
worldwide, H5N1 variant caused “Unprecedented ongoing epidemics” that have led to the deaths of millions of wild birds and tens of thousands of mammals.
Large-scale deaths have not yet occurred in Australia, but the main concerns are about possible impacts on wildlife: more than 150 native bird species are assessed to be at risk of extinction or major decline if they become infected; these include the red goshawk, fairy tern, plains wanderer, shy albatross, black swan and western-capped plover.
More than 10 mammal species are at very high risk, including the Australian sea lion, subantarctic fur seal and Australian fur seal.
There could also be significant impacts on the poultry industry. Estimated globally 140 million farm birds It has died or been culled since January last year. In the United States, the virus was linked to something 220% increase The Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned that if the virus reaches commercial flocks it could push egg prices above $10 per carton. Mass culls may be necessary and the RSPCA has called for fast-track research into more humane methods of killing, such as the use of nitrogen in gas or foam.
Human-to-human transmission of the virus is not common, but 1,000 cases of H5N1 in humans have been reported worldwide since 2003. 48% mortality rate.
