Australian experts warn of triple avian influenza threat

Canberra: Australia is facing an unprecedented threat from three different strains of avian influenza according to experts from the national science agency.

Debbie Eagles and Frank Wong from the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness (ACPD) at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on Monday warned that three strains of the highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza have been detected in Australia in 2024, reports Xinhua news agency.

The outbreaks have affected poultry farms in the southeastern states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) as well as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), prompting the culling of over 500,000 chickens.

Wong told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) that experts have not been able to identify a reason behind the simultaneous outbreaks.

"There could be many reasons. We don't know. The wild bird dynamics at a particular point in time, climate, changes in perhaps weather patterns or just coincidence," he said.

The federal government earlier in July committed 6.9 million Australian dollars ($4.6 million) in funding to boost preparations for a possible outbreak of the H5 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

Murray Watt, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said at the time that Australia is the last continent to remain free of the strain, which has caused significant deaths of poultry, wild birds and wild mammals around the world.

He warned that H5 HPAI could spread in Australia in the spring when migratory birds arrive in the country.