Avian Influenza H5N1 (Bird Flu)

Case numbers of the disease are growing among wild birds in two states.

A little penguin has died from bird flu before a vaccination program begins, among new positive detections of the deadly disease in wild birds across two states.

Victorian authorities confirmed the death of a penguin from Phillip Island on Saturday afternoon, the first detection in a penguin in the state.

The H5 strain of bird flu had also been detected in two crested terns, from Lakes Entrance and Domana on the Mornington

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🔗 Read more at Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australia will roll out bird flu vaccines in the "coming days and weeks" with native species and birds in captivity first in line for protection from the deadly disease.

On Tuesday, the government said that it had AU$2m ($1.4m, £1m) worth of vaccinations for the H5N1 strain - about 1,500 vials - with states and territories to manage the rollout.

Australia reported its first case of the highly contagious strain in June, making it the last continent to be impacted. Since then, more than 230 case

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🔗 Read more at Brisbane Times

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Australia is now confronting an outbreak of a deadly bird flu strain. As of Monday, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus had been detected in 78 wild birds across mainland Australia. Until now, there had been no evidence of a large-scale outbreak. But authorities have confirmed the first instance of mass death caused by H5N1 among dozens of greater crested terns off South Australia's south-east coast. They are also conducting further testing on a cluster of sick and dead terns in south-west Victoria. As H5N1 spreads across the country, researchers, wildlife managers and the broader public are increasingly concerned about the risks it may pose beyond birds. Recent outbreaks have threatened aquatic mammals, including southern ...
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Poultry industry waiting and watching to see if protection measures can ease

A wildlife hospital has set up an off-site triage centre to assess wild birds for signs of the deadly H5 flu, in case the country sees widespread transmission of the disease.

There have been no new cases in the three weeks since the second infection was confirmed in a New Zealand bird on 17 July. However, case numbers are on the rise in Australia.

So the hospital, as well as New Zealand's poultry industry, are playing

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🔗 Read more at Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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While there have so far been no reports of the deadly avian flu infecting any birds in Australian commercial poultry farms, the first mass mortality event was confirmed Down Under on Monday with the deaths of dozens of wild greater crested terns, found on an

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Australia has confirmed deadly H5N1 bird flu has been found in 102 wild seabirds across five states at the time of writing, including the country's first mass death of birds. Author * Jane Younger Senior Lecturer in Southern Ocean Vertebrate Ecology, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania The question is no longer if this virus can harm Australian wildlife, but whether we should use every available tool to protect species most at risk . Vaccination cannot stop H5N1 spreading through wildlife. But it could prevent an outbreak from killing all of the at-risk species in an area - a tragic local extinction. Australia should begin targeted vaccination of threatened birds. It should also urgently develop a strategy for seals and sea lions, rather than waiting until th...
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SYDNEY - Australia warned on Aug 3 against the risk of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first mass mortality episode among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast south of Adelaide. However, there is no evidence yet of the virus on Australia's farms, many of which have locked down to safeguard poultry flocks since it was first detected in June. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said testing confirmed H5N1 bird flu in a group of 49 dead and 35 sick terns found by helicopter surveillance on rocks off Cape Jaffa, 250km from Adelaide on July 31. "Australians should expect to see more spread and larger numbers now of wildlife being affected," she told reporters in Canberra, the capital. "This is the first confirmed case of a mass mortality," she added. "Once the H...
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CANBERRA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Australia warned on Monday against the risk of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first mass mortality episode among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast south of Adelaide. However, there is no evidence yet of the virus on Australia's farms, many of which have locked down to safeguard poultry flocks since it was first detected in June. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said testing confirmed H5N1 bird flu in a group of 49 dead and 35 sick terns found by helicopter surveillance on rocks off Cape Jaffa, 250 km (155 miles) from Adelaide on Friday. "Australians should expect to see more spread and larger numbers now of wildlife being affected," she told reporters in Canberra, the capital. "This is the first confirmed case of a mass mo...
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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 on Monday. That's nearly three times the level reported by the government a little less than a week ago.

"Once the H

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🔗 Read more at News.com.au

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australian authorities have warned that more mass bird deaths are likely after the country confirmed its first large-scale wildlife mortality event caused by the highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus, commonly known as bird flu, marking what officials described as the beginning of a prolonged environmental crisis. The outbreak was confirmed after dozens of greater crested terns and silver gulls died at Baudin Rocks, off Cape Jaffa in South Australia, becoming Australia's first recorded mass mortality event linked to the H5 strain of bird flu. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the virus could continue affecting Australia's wildlife for years despite extensive preparedness efforts. "This could be a long period of time and a very long journey," Collins said, not...
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