First H5 bird flu infection detected in Australia

Scientists have detected the H5 strain of bird flu in Australia for the first time, the country's Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said on Saturday, meaning the highly contagious variant has now spread to every continent.

The minister at a press conference said that the disease had been found in a migratory sea bird, a brown skua, in remote Western Australia, and the result confirmed by the national science agency.

Samples from another sick bird, a giant petrel, had also shown as a suspected positive result, she said.

Australia was previously been the only continent where the H5 strain, which can devastate poultry and wild bird populations, had not been detected.

“Whilst disappointing, this is not unexpected, given the global spread of the H5 bird flu,” Julie Collins told reporters in Canberra.

“I can confirm there is still no evidence of any mass mortalities at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in any poultry,” she said.

An emergency meeting of animal health and agriculture officials has been held to consider a national response.

“We all knew we couldn’t be bird flu-free forever,” Collins added.

The H5 strain has caused severe disease and high death rates in poultry, wild birds and affected mammals across the globe.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday the detection of the case was concerning, and that his government would take measures seeking to contain the spread of the disease.

“This is something that has happened through migratory birds, and has happened by definition around the world, and this is why we are preparing for this,” he said.

The wild birds most affected by the H5 strain include waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds and birds of prey.

Marine mammals have also been affected, with some detection in other animals like cats, goats, alpacas and pigs.

Earlier on Thursday, Australian scientists said the H5 bird flu strain had killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on a sub-Antarctic volcanic island, one of Australia’s external territories.