Second case of deadly avian flu detected in Australia
A second bird has tested positive for the deadly strain of bird flu as Australia’s largest poultry producer quarantined its farms.
The H5N1 strain of flu has been confirmed in a northern giant bird, including a brown skua, in Western Australia, near where the virus was found in the first identified case.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said there was no evidence of mass deaths among the birds to date.
“We are working to determine whether H5 avian influenza is in wildlife beyond these two isolated birds or whether it is established in Australia,” he told reporters on Monday.
Environment Minister Murray Watt said people should avoid contact with sick or dead birds.
“It’s important to remember that we currently only have two confirmed cases,” he said.
“But we do not underestimate the threat this poses to Australian wildlife and our agricultural sector.”
More than a dozen cases of sick or dead birds were also reported.
Although there have been no detections in commercial poultry, leading chicken producer Inghams Group has announced that it has decided to take precautions against possible risks at all its Western Australian facilities.
“This includes implementing a full quarantine preventing all non-essential access across all of the company’s WA farms and processing operations,” the company said.
The meat producer is also seeking a regional housing order from the state government that would allow free-range poultry to be kept indoors.
Chief veterinary officer Beth Cookson said Australia had been preparing for years against deadly bird flu as the only continent not previously affected by bird flu.
“Our current actions are to understand whether these two single birds are spreading the disease to other populations in Australia,” Dr Cookson told ABC Radio.
“Our approach is to truly learn from overseas experiences and look at practical actions that can be put in place to reduce impacts as much as possible.”
He said the two sick birds had breeding habitat on Heard Island and McDonald Islands under Antarctica, where the species killed 13,359 southern elephant seal chicks.
The public is asked to report any sick or injured birds they encounter, but to keep their distance as the virus can spread to people in close proximity in rare cases.
The federal government has developed more than 100 response plans for important areas and sensitive species and has invested nearly $100 million in preparedness efforts.
The discovery has raised fears among scientists, environmentalists and agricultural groups abroad who point to mass mortality events and species-level population declines.
University of Melbourne researcher Michelle Wille said international experiences painted a bleak picture.
“Everywhere this virus has emerged has been truly catastrophic, there have been mass mortality events of wildlife and in some places we have seen species-level declines in population,” he said.
Industry impacts could also be significant, he said, noting that more than 200 million chickens have been culled in the United States since the virus arrived in the United States.
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