Egg prices could skyrocket now bird flu has landed in Australia
The H5N1 bird flu has landed in Australia, and it could send grocery bills soaring if or when it infiltrates poultry farms across the country.
If the deadly disease spreads to poultry, it could decimate Australia’s production and supply of products like chicken and eggs.
The H5N1 bird flu could lead to an egg shortage and price hikes. Nine
That could cause a shortage and force farmers to hike prices, meaning Aussies would have to pay more for a roast chook or carton of eggs at the supermarket.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins dodged questions about how H5N1 bird flu could affect the price of poultry products on Tuesday morning.
She told ABC the government is doing “everything that we can” to protect poultry farmers and other primary producers from the potentially devastating disease.
“We have invested well over $100 million in our preparedness in terms of getting ready for the H5 bird flu, should it arrive in Australia,” Collins said.
“We’ve always known we could not stop it, because it would arrive by migratory birds.”
Only two H5N1 bird flu cases have been confirmed in Australia so far, both in wild birds from the same region of Western Australia.
That figure is expected to grow in the days and weeks ahead.
“We’re still in the investigation stage, we’re still determining whether or not this is widespread in Australian wildlife, or whether it is just a few isolated cases at this point in time from migratory birds,” Collins said.
Inghams Group, Australia’s largest poultry producer, isn’t taking any chances.
It announced new precautionary measures across all of its WA sites on Tuesday in response to the H5N1 bird flu threat, including a complete lockdown of the state’s farms and processing operations.
It’s also seeking federal government approval to start housing its free-range chickens indoors to protect them from the disease.
Epidemiologists raised the alarm about H5N1 bird flu long before it arrived on Australian shores.
The disease has killed millions of birds around the globe, infected many other animals, and has even spread to humans in some cases.
Until recently, Australia had been free of the H5N1 strain.
This brown skua, found at Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance and taken in by a carer, is Australia's first confirmed H5 strain case. 9News
Fortunately, the country is well-prepared for the disease according to Adelaide University chair of biostatistics Professor Adrian Estermanz, even if it makes the jump from animals to humans.
“The good news is that there is a good vaccine against it, and it’s actually made by our own [manufacturer],” Esterman previously told nine.com.au.
“So if it did turn out that H5N1 was the next pandemic, then we would be well-prepared.”
Concern over ‘hybrid’ bird-human virus
While the risk of transmission from humans to birds remains low, there is some concern that low vaccination rates could lead to a “hybrid” virus.
Swinburne microbiologist Professor Enzo Palombo said in its current strain it is unlikely that the strain could pass to humans.
“The bird flu detections in Western Australia are a clear reminder of the risk posed by animal viruses spreading to humans,” Professor Palombo says.
“Although the risk of direct transmission of bird flu to people is low, the potential for the emergence of new viruses with capacity to spread between humans remains a real concern.”
He encouraged Australians to get vaccinated against the flu, which would help give a barrier of defence if the virus were to mutate.
“To minimise the risk, people are encouraged to get a flu vaccine,” he says.
“This not only reduces the risk from current circulating flu strains, it also minimises the possibility of the emergence of ‘hybrid’ bird-human viruses which could evolve into novel viruses with high pandemic potential.”
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