Officials have confirmed the first case of the H5 avian influenza strain on the Australian mainland. The virus was identified in a wild migratory seabird who died after being found sick on a remote beach in Esperance, south of Perth. Authorities in Australia say they have been expecting the arrival of the virus and have been preparing accordingly.
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TRANSCRIPT
It began with a brown skua bird, found on a remote beach near Esperance, about 700 kilometres southeast of Perth.
The bird later died - and Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says testing by the CSIRO laboratory in the Victorian city of Geelong has now established exactly what type of infection it had.
“Testing at the CSIRO's Centre for Disease Preparedness has confirmed the H5 high pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu in a brown skua in Western Australia.”
The case identified in Western Australia marks the first time the H5 strain has arrived on the Australian mainland, following its detection in October on Australia's Heard Island in the sub-Antarctic.
Dr Lauren Roman is a seabird researcher at the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.
She says it's not all bad news.
I think what's really positive about this detection is that the messaging that Wildlife Health Australia and the Australian government has put out there, so that wildlife carers have been aware for quite a few years now of the possibility of this particular strain of bird flu reaching Australia. Even though I wasn't involved in this particular case, it's a great sign that the wildlife carers - by the sound of it - knew what to look out for. And then when the first detection did occur they were prepared and took the appropriate measures.”
Dr Roman says it's not clear at this stage whether the case is the beginning of an outbreak.
It's being described by experts at the moment as an incursion, or the initial entry of something into the region, while an outbreak describes a sudden spread and rapid increase in cases.
New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe says she does expect it to reach the state at some point.
“We obviously hope that it doesn't come here. But birds fly a long way and we can't put them in cages. You know, we're expecting that we may see it here.”
But Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says the situation right now is far from bleak.
“Whilst disappointing this is not unexpected given the global spread of the H5 bird flu virus. I can confirm that there's still no evidence of any mass mortalities at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in any poultry.”
Still, the arrival of the H5 strain has fuelled fears among scientists, conservationists and agricultural groups.
When the H5 strain was found on Heard Island, scientists estimated just under 14,000 [[13,359]] southern elephant seal pups had died on the sub-Antarctic territory from the disease - out of a total population of just over 17,000 [[17,364]].
Dr Roman says mass mortality events and species-level population reductions have also happened in overseas outbreaks.
“Sea lions have been particularly hard hit across many, many countries, as well as in the sub-Antarctic. So this is a real concern if it does get into sea lions in Australia. It's a possibility if we get outbreaks in the country. It's also hit surface-nesting seabirds really heavily as well. So birds like pelicans, cormorants, boobies, gannets, terns, these sorts of species have seen mass mortalities. In some countries, you've had hundreds of thousands of birds dying over a space of months.”
The federal minister is doing its best to prevent such scenarios.
Ms Collins says the federal government already has more than 100 plans developed for important natural sites and susceptible species.
In New South Wales, Minister Sharpe says officials from every level have already been working together to get ahead of the virus.
“Both federal and state governments have been preparing for this. Literally had some emergency practice preparations even just a couple of months ago in relation to this. So all of those activation plans have been put in place. We're working really carefully with the federal government.”
Meanwhile, other experts have been working to allay concerns about the human impact.
Australian National University infectious diseases specialist Sanjaya Senanayake [[Sen-nah-NIGH-yee-kah*]] says humans don't need to be concerned, especially if the government does what it can to limit the spread of the strain.
“From a human point of view we have seen a few cases, but it's not easy for a human being to get this. It's typically from infected poultry to humans. In the US we've seen it go from cattle to humans as well. But human cases, with this particular strain of bird flu, are not common, and the most cases tend to be mild.”
