Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins will confirm the first positive result of H5N1 on the Australian mainland at a press conference in Canberra this morning. An initial test of a seabird found sick on June 14 near Esperance, in southwest WA, confirmed the Brown Skua had bird flu. Samples were also sent to a laboratory in Melbourne for a secondary test to confirm the super strain. This has come back positive.
A press conference will confirm this is the deadly H5N1 strain that has reached epidemic proportions in animal populations around the world. A sample has also been taken from a second sick bird, a giant petrel, also found in the region. The first bird to have signs of the virus has since died. Collins has flown to Canberra to head a national taskforce.
Political Response
Deputy Nationals Leader Darren Chester has urged the government to support the agriculture industry to ensure the flu doesn’t decimate the nation’s poultry industry. “While we acknowledge the response that is underway, producers and regional communities will rightly expect regular updates and complete transparency as investigations continue,” he said. “The Albanese Government must ensure industry is kept fully informed about the resources being deployed, the support available to affected producers and the measures being taken to contain any potential outbreak.”
The virus can spread to humans too with 71 known cases of H5N1 on record.
Infected Bird Found Drowning
The infected brown skua was found drowning at remote Cape Le Grand Beach in Esperance on Sunday. “That the member of the public was able to catch it was an indication the bird wasn’t well,” Esperance Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary director Lori-Ann Shibish told 7NEWS. The sub-Antarctic bird was taken into care and isolated. It tested positive for bird flu and has since died. People have since been told to avoid touching sick or dead birds.
Surveillance and Response
WA’s chief veterinary officer Michelle Rodan said the initial response phase will be about checking for additional cases. “The first step really is to work out whether it has spread anywhere, because there is a possibility that these birds have come in and that it actually hasn’t spread anywhere,” Rodan said. “We will be doing surveillance across the coast of Australia, not just (WA), to make sure that there’s no other detections across Australia.”
Rodan said the poultry industry already has safety measures in place, including the management of water and feed that birds have access to. “Obviously our free-range industry has trouble with that and hence the possibility of putting housing orders and things in place to allow them to do that,” she said. “A lot of our primary focus is on the poultry industry to make sure they can protect the poultry sector in Western Australia and in Australia.”
Thousands of Seal Pups Die on Aussie Island from Bird Flu
The bird flu was first detected in Australia last year, on an external territory 4000km from the mainland, on Heard Island. Nearly 80 per cent of the southern elephant seal pup population on the sub-Antarctic external territory was wiped out, according to new research published on Wednesday. A team of Australian researchers were sent to survey Heard Island in October and December — they had suspicions about potential H5N1 cases on the island, following recent bird flu deaths on nearby French territories, the Kerguelen and Crozet islands, about 450km from Heard Island.
The Australian Antarctic Division was met with a mass-mortality event upon their arrival. The researchers recorded an estimated 13,359 seal pup deaths on Heard Island, with viral genome analysis confirming animals were infected with Influenza A H5N1. The Australian government has now committed more than $11 million toward bird flu preparedness in Australia.
