Australia has recorded its first detection of the H5 strain of bird flu, a milestone that Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said means the highly contagious variant has now reached every continent.
Collins told a press conference that the virus was identified in a migratory seabird — a brown skua — in remote Western Australia, with the finding confirmed by the national science agency.
She said testing from another ill bird, a giant petrel, also returned a suspected positive result.
Until now, Australia had been the only continent without a detected case of the H5 strain, a form of avian influenza that can devastate both commercial flocks and wild bird populations.
“Whilst disappointing, this is not unexpected, given the global spread of the H5 bird flu,” Collins told reporters in Canberra.
“I can confirm there is still no evidence of any mass mortalities at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in any poultry,” she said.
Officials have already convened an emergency meeting of animal health and agriculture leaders to weigh a national response.
“We all knew we couldn’t be bird flu-free forever,” Collins added.
Across the world, the H5 strain has been linked to severe disease and high death rates in poultry, wild birds and infected mammals, putting pressure on wildlife health and agricultural biosecurity systems alike.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the discovery was concerning and pledged steps aimed at limiting further spread.
“This is something that has happened through migratory birds, and has happened by definition around the world, and this is why we are preparing for this,” he said.
The wild birds most heavily affected by H5 include waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds and birds of prey.
Marine mammals have also been hit, and detections have been reported in other animals such as cats, goats, alpacas and pigs.
On Thursday, Australian scientists said the H5 bird flu strain had killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on a sub-Antarctic volcanic island, one of Australia’s external territories.
