Australia confirms first H5N1 bird flu case in local seabird
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Laboratory testing by Australia’s national science agency confirmed the case in a greater crested tern found in the South Australian coastal town of Robe.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Australia confirmed the first H5N1 bird flu case in a native seabird, a greater crested tern, found in South Australia.
- The total confirmed H5N1 cases in Australia reached 12, including recent detections in South Australia and Western Australia.
- No mass deaths or spread to poultry have been reported, and scientists are investigating how the seabird was infected.
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SYDNEY – Australia on July 10 confirmed the first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in a local seabird, raising concerns that the disease is beginning to spread more widely after it landed in the country in June.
Laboratory testing by Australia’s national science agency confirmed the virus was present in a greater crested tern found in the South Australian coastal town of Robe, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said.
It is the first confirmed infection in an Australian seabird, with all other cases being found in migratory seabirds.
It brings the total number of confirmed detections in the country to 12, after authorities on July 10 also confirmed two additional infections in South Australia and one in Western Australia.
Collins said the development was “concerning” but not unexpected, adding that there was still no evidence of mass mortalities or spread to the poultry or broader agriculture sector.
“Our scientists are undertaking further work to establish the potential pathway that resulted in the Australian seabird's infection,” she said.
“What we do know is that this is a coastal seabird that has been overlapping coastal range with migratory seabirds that have previously tested positive for H5.”
The virus spreading to a local seabird was “very bad news”, said Hamish McCallum, an infectious diseases ecologist at Griffith University.
“It’s likely that this will be the beginning of many more cases,” he said.
A deceased juvenile fur seal found on New South Wales’ Central Coast was also tested for possible H5N1 infection but returned a negative result, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said.
New South Wales was the country’s third state to detect H5N1, after a migratory seabird in the Mid North Coast tested positive earlier in June.
The virulent strain of bird flu has spread through wild bird and mammal populations since 2021, killing millions, infecting poultry and dairy farms, and even some farmworkers.
Australia in June became the final continent to confirm a mainland-based case of H5N1, although the virus had been detected in late 2025 on the sub-Antarctic territory of Heard Island, about 4,100km from continental Australia.
Scientists believe the virus has killed around 13,000 seal pups on Heard Island. REUTERS
