CANBERRA: Australia is grappling with a rapid spread of avian flu among wild birds, with authorities warning that the virus has become increasingly difficult to control and poses a significant mortality threat to the nation’s wildlife.
The number of confirmed or presumed positive cases of deadly H5 avian influenza in Australian birds has risen to 74, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said yesterday.
That’s nearly three times the level reported by the government a little less than a week ago.
“Once the H5 bird flu is spreading in wildlife and the natural environment, it is not possible to avoid significant losses, which is what we are starting to see now,” Collins said at a press conference in Canberra, adding that the government had confirmed the country’s first mass-mortality event in wild birds in the state of South Australia.
So far, no cases of bird flu have been detected in Australia’s agriculture sector.
The minister said last week that businesses have been implementing biosecurity measures to protect chickens, including limiting contact with wild birds and preventing contamination of food and water sources.
Other measures, including housing orders for free-range chickens, will be decided by individual states and territories, Collins said.
Until recently, Australia was the last continent to be unaffected by H5 avian influenza, which has spread rapidly around the world, devastated poultry flocks and infected dozens of species of mammals.
The first case in the country was detected in mid-June, in a migratory seabird.
Despite initial hopes that the virus might not be transmitted to local wildlife, it has since been found in greater crested terns and silver gulls in several states.
The first case of local transmission between native wildlife was detected on July 29, after which the spread has rapidly escalated.
There have also been two cases of the virus detected in New Zealand, where the country’s extensive dairy industry could be vulnerable. — Bloomberg
