In brief
- A suspected case of the H5 avian flu has been detected in Western Australia.
- The deadly strain was first detected on Heard Island in October, 4000km southwest of Perth.
Concerns are mounting over a potential outbreak of bird flu in Australia after a suspected case emerged, raising alarms that a deadly strain, responsible for the death of millions of animals globally, may have reached the country.
Julie Collins, the Agriculture Minister, announced that a migratory wild bird in Western Australia has shown signs of the disease. However, she noted that it is premature to determine if this case involves the dangerous H5N1 strain, which has wreaked havoc on bird populations worldwide. Results from further testing are anticipated by Saturday.
Notably, Australia remains the only continent that has not yet confirmed the presence of this virulent strain.
“Currently, there is no evidence of widespread animal deaths, nor is there any sign of infection in poultry,” Collins reassured the public.
“There is no evidence of any mass mortality at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in poultry,” Collins said.
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“If it is confirmed to be the H5 bird flu, this will be sobering, but not unexpected, given the spread globally.”
The deadly strain of bird flu was detected for the first time on Australian soil in October on the World Heritage-listed Heard Island, which sits some 4000km southwest of Perth.
Scientists who visited Heard Island estimated 13,359 southern elephant seal pups had died from the disease out of a total population of 17,364 — more than three-quarters of the total.
Collins insisted the strain’s arrival was inevitable and said the government had been preparing for it as a result.
She downplayed fears it could devastate Australia’s farmers, who are still reeling from the fuel crisis caused by conflict in the Middle East.
“This is a single bird, a suspected case and we are as prepared as any country can be,” Collins said.
“We have invested early, as we said we would, and those investments are now showing provision … if this is detected as a case, we will have gotten there early.”
Risk to human health would be exceptionally small, she added.
States and territory representatives and industry experts are meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss planning.
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