H5 bird flu testing update 25 August

The CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) has confirmed a new H5 bird flu event in South Australia since yesterday’s update.

A long-nosed fur seal at The Pages Conservation Park near Kangaroo Island has returned a positive result in confirmatory testing at the ACDP.

There have now been 195 confirmed H5 bird flu events in South Australia.

A further 10 suspect H5 bird flu events in South Australia have been detected since the last update, bringing the current number of suspect events to 36. These include:

• Magpie
  • Limestone Coast - Robe
• Greater crested terns
  • Metropolitan – Bellevue Heights, Maslin Beach, Port Willunga, Port Adelaide, West Lakes Shore
• Fluttering shearwater
  • Metropolitan – Semaphore
• Silver gull
  • Kangaroo Island – The Pages
• Pacific gull
  • Kangaroo Island – The Pages
• Little Penguin
  • Kangaroo Island – The Pages

The samples from new suspect events have been sent to ACDP for confirmatory testing, with results expected to be known in the coming days.

In line with national protocols, the South Australian Government recently changed how we report on H5 bird flu detections.
Reporting is now based on events, rather than individual animal detections, where an event may involve one or more animals. The number of positive events captures all previously reported individual confirmed detections.

An interactive map is available on the H5 bird flu website with up-to-date information on event locations:  see current situation.

There remains no H5 bird flu detections in poultry or other livestock. The risk to human health of H5 bird flu remains low.