Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO Authorities have sent a dead bird found on a Sydney beach for testing after the first case of a severe and deadly form of bird flu arrived in New South Wales. On Saturday, Agriculture Minister
Authorities have sent a dead bird found on a Sydney beach for testing after the first case of a severe and deadly form of bird flu arrived in New South Wales.
On Saturday, Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty confirmed that a giant petrel found on Bennetts Beach in Hawks Nest, north of Newcastle, had tested positive for H5N1 after a spate of cases along Australia’s southern coast.
A dead cormorant on Narrabeen Beach on the same day prompted Surf Life Saving NSW members to set up an exclusion zone around the bird with traffic cones.
Staff notified the Animal Disease Hotline and on Saturday afternoon the bird was collected and sent for testing at the Elizabeth McArthur Institute in Menangle.
If initial results are suspicious, the bird will be tested at the CSIRO Disease Preparedness Center in Geelong to confirm infection.
Surf Life Saving NSW is part of a wide network of staff contracted to assist with policing efforts, including staff from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and animal hospitals.
Abroad, the virulent form of bird flu has destroyed wild bird populations, killed tens of thousands of mammals, sickened livestock and devastated poultry farms and forced the culling of hundreds of millions of chickens in the United States.
Authorities have stressed that there is no evidence of widespread transmission among birds in Australia and that the disease has not infected local poultry farms.
“There’s no need to panic,” Moriarty said Sunday morning. “People should continue buying chicken and eggs as usual.”
The sick petrel found on the mid-north coast of New South Wales was the sixth confirmed case of bird flu detected in stranded petrels and skuas across Australia in the last fortnight.
More infected shorebirds are likely to arrive from the subantarctic. Preventing the virus from spreading to wildlife – which could be catastrophic for a range of native species, from black swans to sea lions – is a matter of humans getting to infected birds before natural scavengers.
“We have stepped up and will continue to conduct the important surveillance exercises we have conducted since this first bird was found,” Moriarty said. “We have more than 500 people trained to carry out adequate surveillance.”
Australia’s acting chief veterinary officer, Dr Sam Hamilton, on Friday convened the Emergency Animal Diseases Advisory Committee, a body that links the industry with federal and state governments, to discuss biosecurity measures.
The committee encouraged states to temporarily allow poultry farmers to house poultry indoors to reduce the possibility of poultry being infected by wild birds.
“Poultry producers are reminded that on-farm biosecurity practices are crucial to protecting the health of their flocks,” the committee said in a statement.
Signs of the virus in wild birds include bent necks, inability to walk or fly, a drooping or swollen appearance, or sudden mass deaths.
Angus Dalton is the Sydney Morning Herald’s science reporter.Connect through X either email.From our partners
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