Attributable to the acting Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Sam Hamilton:
Testing at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) has determined the giant petrel found in the Perth North Metropolitan Area (Whitfords – Mullaloo beach) of Western Australia is presumed positive for H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (bird flu).
CSIRO’s ACDP has confirmed the giant petrel was infected with an influenza virus of the H5 subtype. In this case ACDP has been unable to sequence the virus.
The Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is treating this case as a positive as a precautionary measure, because of the initial WA laboratory findings, and the consistency with recent findings in other petrels
The inability to obtain a sequence is not unexpected. A range of factors, including the amount of virus in the sample and the sample quality, can affect sequencing, particularly in wildlife samples from deceased animals.
This is the seventh wild migratory seabird in Australia to return a confirmed or presumed positive result for H5 bird flu.
At this stage, there have only been detections in migratory seabirds that occasionally visit Australia.
There remains no evidence of any mass mortality events and there are no detections in poultry or in our agricultural production system.
The risk to human health remains low.
If you see sick or dead birds or other animals, do not touch them. Avoid contact. Record what you see. Report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 from anywhere in Australia.
Poultry producers are reminded that on-farm biosecurity practices are crucial to protect the health of their flocks.
