Australia has identified its first mass die-off of wild seabirds due to highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, signalling the further spread of bird flu to Australia’s wildlife. The announcement on Saturday came as hundreds of seabirds were discovered dead in Remote Albatross Island off the coast of Tasmania.
Testing later identified the virus causing the outbreak as H5N1.
Bird flu has already devastated bird populations in other regions and is impacting at-risk species like shy albatross in Australia, sparking alarm among conservationist for their impacted wildlife habitats.
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The Australian government is boosting monitoring and taking precautionary steps, including limiting access to the affected island and other high-risk zones in a bid to slow the virus’s progress and prevent more transmission. Officials have reminded people to avoid contact with any sick or deceased birds and contact the appropriate departments if suspected cases are found.
The H5N1 strain has run rampant across bird populations in Europe, the Americas, Africa and parts of Asia and may even affect the poultry industry, impacting avian species in multiple countries, causing several deaths in mammals to emerge in recent years.
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The virus’s ability to affect groups of birds clustered together in islands or colonies, like wild sea birds, is a direct cause for alarm as the transmission rates would be high in such gatherings.
The level of threat that the new cluster presents to human health may be low, based on current data.
“Monitoring has always been put in place, but it’s always strengthened when you are entering what is really a whole new aspect of dealing with H5N1 in wild” animals, said Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Murray Watt. “The impact on wild animals is very concerning,” he added.
