Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is concerned avian influenza could present an extinction risk to some birds.
Environmental Minister Tanya Plibersek said the government is taking bird flu very seriously amid concerns that it could be on its way to the country.
H5 is a highly pathogenic bird flu strain detected in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and South America.
In a speech at the 2024 Zoo and Aquarium Association Annual Conference, Plibersek warned, “The new H5 variant is coming for us.”
“High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza or Avian Flu is something that the government is taking very seriously and preparing for. Because the new H5 variant is coming for us,” she said.
Plibersek explained this will require an “all-in approach” with public and private organisations working together.
“The federal government, together with state and territory governments, want to work with you,” she told the conference.
The minister explained that the government is concerned about the threat that a new variant could pose to birds facing extinction.
Plibersek said avian influenza does not just impact birds. It also impacts mammals overseas, noting that seals and lions are at “particularly high risk.”
“The spring bird migration from the northern hemisphere in the coming months is a particularly dangerous time,” she added.
The warning noted that penguins, pelicans, sea lions, and dairy cows had been hit by the “fast-spreading” and often lethal high-pathogenicity avian influenza known as H5N1.
“This virus is threatening the survival of entire species,” the institute said.
Bird Flu H7 Strain in Australia
Australian authorities classify avian influenza strains as high pathogenicity (HPAI) or low pathogenicity (LPAI).
Despite H5 influenza not spreading to wild birds in Australia, the H7 high pathogenicity strain has been detected at 16 Australian poultry farms in recent months.
This includes eight in Victoria, six in New South Wales (NSW), and two in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
In Victoria, H7N3 bird flu has been found at seven properties, while the H79 strain has been found at one property, according to an update from Agriculture Victoria
Also, in Victoria, a human case of H5N1 infection was detected in a child who acquired the infection in Victoria and returned to Australia from overseas in March 2024.
Meanwhile, avian influenza was identified in NSW at two poultry farms in the Greater Sydney Basin and ACT border region in June.
“Four individual detections also occurred on non-commercial properties within the restricted emergency zone close to the original detection,” the government said.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) expressed relief the strain of influenza in the state is different to H5N1.
No Need to Panic
Following news of the outbreak in Australia, Monash University virologist Dr. Vinod Balasubramaniam said H5N1 avian influenza poses a public health threat.
However, he said the public need not panic because current surveillance and response efforts “aim to detect and manage outbreaks promptly.”
“While the possibility of H5N1 mutating to pose a greater threat to humans warrants attention, proactive monitoring and control measures mitigate the risk. Thus, while vigilance is crucial, there is no immediate cause for alarm,” he said.
Meanwhile, Victoria University Australia Professor Vasso Apostolopoulos explains both H5N1 and H7N3 are “rare in humans.”