H5N1 bird flu detected on mainland Australia for first time

Australia has recorded its first detection of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus on mainland territory, authorities have said.

According to German media, a brown skua, a migratory seabird found on a remote beach south of Perth in Western Australia, tested positive for the virus, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said.

The result indicates that the strain of concern circulating globally has now been detected on every continent.

“This is the highly pathogenic strain of concern that has been circulating globally, and this is its first detection on mainland Australia,” Collins said.

Authorities said there was no evidence of mass deaths among wild birds and no signs of infection in poultry flocks.

Samples from another sick bird in the same region have also returned a suspected positive result and have been sent for confirmatory testing.

Collins said the government had committed A$100m (£around $70m) to preparedness measures for a potential outbreak, noting lessons learned from overseas responses.

The H5 variant had previously been detected on Australia’s sub-Antarctic territory of Heard Island last year, following unusually high deaths among elephant seals.

By Aghakazim Guliyev