Australia is facing an unprecedented threat from three strains of avian influenza, as reported by experts from the national science agency. Debbie Eagles and Frank Wong from the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness at CSIRO warned that the highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza has been detected in 2024, affecting poultry farms in Victoria, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. This has led to the culling of over 500,000 chickens.
Experts are unsure why these simultaneous outbreaks are occurring, citing potential factors like wild bird dynamics, climate, weather patterns, or coincidence.
In response, the federal government has allocated 6.9 million Australian dollars ($4.6 million) to prepare for a possible outbreak of the H5 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Agriculture Minister Murray Watt noted that while Australia is currently free of this strain, which has caused significant poultry, wild bird, and mammal deaths globally, it could spread when migratory birds arrive in the spring.
Source – CGTN
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