Australia's response to a potentially disastrous bird flu outbreak is ratcheting up after the deadly H5 variant of the disease was found on the Australian mainland on Friday. Since then, authorities say they have received 16 separate reports of sick or dead birds from members of the public. The South Australian Premier is also due to hold talks with his government as the country moves to contain the threat.
At this stage there is one officially confirmed case of the deadly strain, involving a bird found around Esperance on the southern coast of Western Australia. A second bird appears to have tested positive, but officials are still waiting for confirmation. Environment Minister Murray Watt stressed there is no evidence of a more widespread outbreak, and that other reports of dead birds may be unrelated to the virus.
Watt said the arrival of the strain was not unexpected, noting that Australia had been the only continent in the world yet to record this most deadly form of bird flu. For the past two years, he said, authorities have been intensively preparing their systems for exactly this scenario, treating its eventual appearance as a matter of when rather than if.
The minister emphasised that there is no evidence the virus has affected poultry stocks in Australia, describing it as a wildlife matter at this point in time. He warned, however, that bird flu can infect not only birds but also mammals, and that a widespread outbreak of the deadly strain would have a very significant impact on the country's wildlife.
The greatest concern is for Australia's most endangered species, including the Australian sea lion, which is itself an endangered animal that could catch the disease. To prepare, the government says it has committed 113 million dollars in total, including 11 million dollars in the most recent budget, having previously spent more than 100 million dollars on readiness.
That money has funded enclosures at zoos and other institutions to keep birds away from sea lions and other vulnerable species, along with captive breeding programs to boost the numbers of endangered animals. Watt added that efforts to remove feral pigs and other feral animals across the country would also help give threatened native species a better chance of survival.
The detection has already disrupted events on the ground, with poultry shows in Esperance and Collie cancelled. The Esperance Poultry Association said its proximity to the first known case forced it to call off its upcoming show. In Perth, a marine ornithologist warned the variant could prove catastrophic for Australian birds, including the state's emblematic black swans, and authorities urged the public not to touch sick or dead birds or marine mammals but to report them to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline.