Tasmania has confirmed its first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu that has impacted wildlife across five other Australian states.
Following testing which was completed overnight, a brown skua was confirmed to have had the virus.
The single bird was found at Burgess Cove at Rocky Cape, on the north-west coast of Tasmania.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE) said it was alerted to the carcass of the bird by staff from the Parks and Wildlife Service, who have been undertaking active surveillance of coastal areas.
The government said the first detection was a single case, and at this stage was not considered an outbreak.
The avian influenza was detected in the carcass of a brown skua, a migratory Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seabird. (Steve B, Brown Skua, CC0 1.0 DEED)
Minister for Primary Industries and Water Gavin Pearce said Tasmania was “prepared to respond” and would enact its bird flu response plan.
“Although we’ve had a positive detection, I want to be clear that there is no evidence of an outbreak and there is no detection in commercial poultry at this time,”
Mr Pearce said.
“I want to reassure Tasmanians that we are prepared to respond to H5 bird flu, and we will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”
The first detected case of H5 bird flu in Australia, found in WA, was also a brown skua. (iNaturalist: Simon Plat, Brown skua, CC BY-NC 4.0)
Department secretary Jason Jacobi said it was “inevitable” that the virus would arrive in the state.
He said infected brown skuas had been found in other Australian states.
“It’s not unexpected that we would find a confirmed brown skua,”
Mr Jacobi said.
Brown skuas are large predatory seabirds native to Tasmania that breed on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands.
The birds are often found in coastal areas and have been known to feed in large flocks on carcasses.
Testing underway to find out where skua caught virus
NRE’s director of threatened species, Dr Rachael Alderman, said skuas were regular visitors to Tasmanian waters.
“Skuas don’t breed in Tasmania but they do frequent local waters for foraging year-round,”
she said.
“In general, they would be travelling alone looking for food sources in the ocean, but if they were to come across a dead floating whale, for example, there may be a large flock of skuas.”
She said it was not “unusual” that this bird was found at that location.
“Normally, when they are turning up, we’re seeing them alive and at sea. When they have the disease, as this one has, they’re more likely to turn up on the shore, which is why this one was found.”
Dr Rachael Alderman said a sample taken from the dead skua would provide detailed sequencing information. (ABC News: Simon Farrell)
Dr Alderman said at this time, it was not known where the affected bird may have contracted the virus.
“When this sample comes back from its analysis at the ACDP [CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness] in Geelong, that’s when they’ll have really detailed sequencing information,” she said.
“They use that sequencing information to map the relatedness. You can tell lots of interesting things about whether it’s come from Heard Island or somewhere else”.
The government said it had completed aerial surveys of more than 980 kilometres of Tasmania’s coastline, including more remote areas such as along the West Coast, King Island and islands in the Furneaux Group, as well as Tasmanian islands that are home to seal and seabird colonies as part of its early detection plan.
Virus could impact native Tasmanian species
The state’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Guy Barnett, said this strain of H5N1 bird flu could impact Tasmania’s endemic species, including the endangered orange-bellied parrot.
He listed the Tasmanian devil, the shy albatross, the short-tailed shearwater, the Furneaux white-fronted tern, the fairy tern and little tern, Australian and long-nosed fur seal, and Australasian gannet as being vulnerable to the virus.
“We have been preparing for the risk of a mass mortality event by working closely with the federal government to deliver protection plans for species considered most at risk,” he said.
“H5 bird flu poses a significant threat to the orange-bellied parrot species.”
“We cannot eliminate the risk entirely, but we’re taking action to give our orange-bellied parrots the best possible chance in the event of an outbreak.”
A plan to vaccinate about 350 orange-bellied parrots would be enacted.
Due to the permit conditions of the vaccine, the parrots will be the only species to receive vaccinations.
The bird’s wild population was last year recorded at 88 individuals, and the stability of the species’ population is reliant on timed, captive releases of birds from the breeding program.
The wild population of the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot is as few as 88 individuals. (JJ Harrison/CC BY-SA 3.0)
Mr Barnett said while there was no way to prevent new strains of bird flu from entering or spreading through Tasmania with wild and migratory birds, it was important for the community to remain vigilant and report sick or dead birds and wildlife immediately.
The government has advised that for poultry owners, biosecurity remained key.
Its advise was to keep poultry separated from wild birds, protect feed and water sources from contamination, and for owners to monitor birds for signs of illness.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff spoke in parliament this morning on the bird flu case.
He said he was encouraged by the community’s vigilance, including 500 reports to the emergency animal disease hotline resulting in 80 birds being tested.
“I particularly want to commend members of the public who continue to report sick and dead birds,” Mr Rockliff said.
“This is exactly the kind of community vigilance that strengthens our biosecurity response.
“Early reporting allows our experts to investigate, to test, and to respond quickly.”
The confirmation means only the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory have not detected the deadly virus, which was confirmed to have arrived on Australian shores in July.
There are more than 200 confirmed cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu across the country, with Australia’s first confirmed case was in a wild brown skua seabird found at Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance, Western Australia.
The Tasmanian government has urged anyone who sees sick or dead birds or other wildlife to call the emergency animal disease hotline on 1800 675 888 or report the incident through the online form at www.nre.tas.gov.au/BirdFlu.
