Second Bird Tests Positive for Bird Flu on Remote Western Australia Beach
Quick Look
- A second bird, a brown skua, found sick on a remote beach in Western Australia has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.
- Authorities are investigating if the virus has established in the wild, while a major poultry producer has locked down its WA operations as a precaution.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
A second bird has tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza on a remote beach in Western Australia. This follows an earlier positive test for the same strain.
A second bird found sick on a remote beach in Western Australia's south coast has now tested positive for a deadly strain of bird flu, authorities have confirmed.
Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said testing at the CSIRO had confirmed both a brown skua and a northern giant petrel had tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza.
Both birds were found in Esperance, about 700 kilometres south-east of Perth, and authorities confirmed on Saturday morning that the brown skua had the disease.
Ms Collins said there was no evidence of mass mortalities in wildlife, with the Australian poultry and agricultural systems remaining free from bird flu so far.
"We are working to determine whether the H5 bird flu has established in the wildlife or Australia, other than these two isolated birds," she said.
The news comes as Ingham's, one of the nation's biggest poultry producers, announced earlier today it was locking down its entire WA operations in response to the bird flu threat.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Further cases of H5N1 in Australian wildlife are likely.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Has H5N1 established in Australian wildlife?
- What is the extent of the outbreak in wild birds?
- What are the biosecurity measures in place for poultry farms?
