Source : Perth Now news
A native Australian species has been struck down by the H5 bird flue strain in NSW for the first time.
Authorities in the state have confirmed the ominous milestone in the spread of the deadly new strain, after two greater crested terns were killed.
The birds were discovered in opposite areas of NSW, one near Narooma on the south coast and the other near Wentworth, in western NSW.
Both were tested at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness and both confirmed to have been affected by the H5 strain.
It is the first time that a native Aussie species has tested positive for H5 bird flu in NSW – although native birds have succumbed to it in other parts of Australia.
It takes the national number of detections to 215 as the avian illness continues to spread.
Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said the speed at which bird flu was spreading to new species and new locations was “alarming”.
“We now have it turning up for the first time in the Murray Darling Basin at Wentworth. That should be ringing alarm bells for governments because it suggests it could soon be spreading among inland bird colonies ahead of spring breeding season,” he said.
“Birds in the Murray-Darling basin are already in decline due to feral animals, insufficient water to critical wetlands and the loss of habitat – now they have a deadly disease to contend with.
“It is shocking that state and federal governments have known how deadly and contagious this disease would be and yet they have failed to properly invest in protection of wildlife at a scale appropriate to the level of threat.”
‘Not unexpected’
Penny Sharpe, NSW’s minister for the environment, insisted authorities had been prepared for the outbreak.
“These positive cases are not unexpected,” she said. “We remain well equipped to respond to manage further impacts.
“We are using the best available data and tools to target actions for our most at-risk wildlife species and important natural places.”
Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty added that the government was working closely with the poultry industry to strengthen biosecurity measures.
“While there have been no detection in poultry in NSW, the poultry industry has been preparing for this and is across the risks and actions required at this point.”
South Australia is currently the state worst hit by the outbreak, where about two-thirds of all cases have been detected – including 80 in recent days.
The spread has resulted in the Royal Adelaide Show, a major fixture in Australia’s agriculture calendar, pulling the plug on all poultry exhibits for next month’s event.
Speaking to the media on Friday, the show’s chief executive Will Rayner said the decision had been made “out of an abundance of caution”.
“The advice from the relevant authorities was wide-ranging about how we could best reduce the risk in the show,” he said.
“Ultimately, we felt at the show we couldn’t comply with everything they were asking to do, and so we took this decision and we took it now so we gave people lots of opportunity to respond, rather than doing it in the throngs of the show.”
