H5N1 arrives in Australia

Update from Eric Woehler

The arrival of bird flu to Australia signals the next chapter in the spread of this global pandemic.

Australia is the world’s remotest inhabited continent, and for years, researchers and managers had identified two possible pathways for the H5N1 virus to reach Australia. These were from the Northern Hemisphere potentially via migratory shorebirds and/or shearwaters, or from the Southern Ocean as seabirds dispersed northward to avoid the Antarctic winter.

The confirmation of H5N1 in a Brown Skua (also known as Subantarctic Skua) and a Northern Giant Petrel indicates that the virus may have arrived from subantarctic Heard Island, a known breeding site for both species, but this will have to be confirmed.

The potential impacts to Australia’s native and farmed birds are impossible to predict. We are fortunate to be the last continent to which the virus has arrived, as this has given Federal, State and Territory authorities time to prepare appropriate response strategies.

The H5N1 outbreaks have impacted different species of birds in different ways in different parts of the world. Various outbreaks around the globe have resulted in very different guilds of birds (and mammals) being affected, so any 'predictions' around Australian birds are speculative, and not particularly helpful nor useful, as we could see responses misdirecting critical and/or limited resources.

Brown (Subantarctic) Skua, Heard Island. ©Eric J Woehler