Bird suspected of having deadly H5 flu washes up on Queensland beach
A dead bird suspected of having the H5 bird flu has washed up on a beach in Queensland, marking the first suspected case in the state.
The dead petrel washed up on Moreton Island, north-west of Brisbane.
A bird suspected to have died of H5 bird flu, has washed up on Moreton Island, off Brisbane. nna\sswain
The remains returned a suspected positive result for the avian influenza and will now undergo further testing by the CSIRO for confirmation.
The deadly H5 variant has spread globally since 2021.
It reached mainland Australia last month when a migratory bird carrying the disease touched down in Western Australia.
There have now been 17 confirmed cases of H5 bird flu in wild seabirds in Australia, 10 in Western Australia, five in South Australia and two in New South Wales.
The first native bird was confirmed in South Australia two weeks ago but there has been no detection in poultry or the wider agriculture industry.
Authorities say there has been no evidence of large scale deaths.
The Invasive Species Council is calling on the government to invest $200 million in wildlife resilience, to safeguard vulnerable species at risk of extinction.
“We can’t stop this virus, but we can boost the capacity of wildlife to survive and recover from outbreaks,” Invasive Species Council policy director Dr Carol Booth said.
She said investment in surveillance and early detection was only the first step.
“Once this disease reaches vulnerable wildlife populations, surveillance won’t prevent the devastating impacts we’ve seen overseas,” Booth said.
“Millions of wild birds and marine mammals have died, and unless we do everything we can to strengthen the resilience of at-risk populations, there’s every reason to fear Australia could face similar losses.”
She said examples of resilience measures could include feral cat and fox control, restoring habitat, protecting important breeding sites and expanding threatened species recovery programs.
The risk to human health from bird flu is considered low.
Anyone who sees sick or dead birds or animals should avoid touching them and report them to the 24-hour Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
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