Hawk-eyed citizen scientists will be trained in bird flu detection in South Australia to bolster frontline defences against the virus.
SA has so far recorded five confirmed cases of H5 bird flu — four in migratory giant petrels, and one last week in a greater crested tern, which is native to Australia.
There have been 13 confirmed cases across the country, including seven in WA and one in New South Wales.
The SA government today announced a new training program for the identification of sick birds, which will be rolled out to members of BirdLife Australia, Birds SA and the state’s Conservation Council.
Under the program, volunteers from those groups will “receive specialised training to identify sick birds that may be showing signs associated with H5 bird flu in the wild”, the government said.
Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said while exact details were still being worked out, training sessions would be offered both online and in person.
“Volunteers — so birders and others who are used to observing wildlife, and have got a lot of expertise and knowledge in that — [will be] partnering with government so that we can increase that surveillance even further,” she said.
“The initial cohort will be about 50 and obviously we’ll look at the success of it and how we can build upon that.”
Clare Scriven (second from left) says volunteers from Birds SA, the state’s Conservation Council and BirdLife Australia are eligible for the training. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)
As per current practice, possible detections will be reported to the Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) hotline, and volunteers are being urged to avoid contact with sick wildlife.
Signs of the virus in birds include inability to stand or fly, swelling and discolouration of the head, respiratory distress. Multiple sick or dead birds may also be observed in the same spot.
BirdLife Australia CEO Kate Millar said the organisation had been preparing for the arrival of H5 on Australian shores for more than two years.
“We have run training … on bird flu, just really knowing it was really not ‘if’ — it was ‘when’,” she said.
“What this initiative, in my mind, is all about is bringing that base level of understanding and intel on the species, the environments, and what our volunteers already know about the key symptoms — but blending that with what government knows right now.”
Kate Millar (middle) says the rollout of the training could be expanded. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)
Ms Millar said although the organisations had “thousands” of volunteers across the state, including in the Coorong and along the West Coast, the initial rollout would be a “much smaller training exercise to start with”.
“But depending on how this virus goes, we may need to tap into and expand on this training program,” she said.
The SA government has continued to stress that the virus has so far not been identified in commercial poultry and that “it has not become established in any part” of Australia.
