Australian authorities have contained a recent outbreak of avian influenza (‘bird flu’).
The virus spreads predominantly among birds, including chickens and ducks, impacting supplies of eggs and meats.
On Thursday, Agriculture Ministerthere have been no new detections of bird flu since July 2024.
However, she warned of a different bird flu strain killing animals overseas.
Bird flu
Bird flu is athat impacts bird populations around the globe.
Last year, parts of Australia were hit by a strain of bird flu called ‘H7’.
This strain has a high ‘pathogenicity’ (ability to cause disease). It is lethal in birds and can cause severe illness in humans, although animal-to-human transmission is rare.
Outbreak
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Bird flu was detected atlast year: eight in Victoria, six in New South Wales, and two in the ACT.
The last detection occurred in July 2024.
Large populations of chickens and other birds were quarantined and culled in order to contain the virus.
One person was infected with bird flu overseas and treated in Australia. They have since fully recovered.
Containment
Collins said Australia has now officially eradicated the H7 strain of bird flu.
However, Collins said Australia “cannot be complacent” due to another variant “rapidly spreading” overseas.
The H5 variant has spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, North, and South America since 2020, killing millions of chickens. In 2024, there were 66 confirmed cases in humans in the U.S.
