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June 20, 2026 \u2014 12:40pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n The first case of bird flu in Australia has been confirmed after an infected brown skua was found in the remote Cape Le Grand area, east of Esperance on Friday.<\/p>\n The confirmed case of H5 bird flu is the first recorded case in Australia and has launched a multi-agency response, along with advice to the general public to \u201cbe on alert\u201d.<\/p>\n On Saturday, WA minister for agriculture Jackie Jarvis said a giant petrel was also found unwell in the area and underwent testing overnight that revealed it was also suffering avian flu with further tests currently being undertaken to determine which strand it has.<\/p>\n The two birds were found kilometres apart on a stretch of WA\u2019s south coast.<\/p>\n \u201cImportantly, there have been no detections in poultry, and there is no evidence of mass mortality,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralia is well prepared to respond quickly to H5 bird flu to protect poultry production and reduce the impact on wildlife and our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Jarvis said that in response to suspicions about the bird flu case, multiple calls were made overnight to the emergency animal disease hotline in relation to other dead birds found along WA\u2019s coast. She said testing of those carcasses was currently taking place.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ask the community to be alert,\u201d she said. \u201cAs with any biosecurity response, the community is a vital partner. We all have an important role to play in protecting our wildlife, our poultry, and other animals against H5 bird flu.\u201d<\/p>\n Surveillance for H5 bird flu will now be enhanced together with targeted engagement with the poultry industry, veterinarians and wildlife carers.<\/p>\n Jarvis said it was \u201cvery rare\u201d for a person to contract bird flu from an animal, adding that there were \u201cno cases of humans to human transition, as far as I\u2019m aware\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI am advised that it would take sustained contact with a diseased animal, which is why we are saying, as an abundance of caution, please don\u2019t go near animals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cases of human avian influenza, I understand, are rare, and so the main way it could happen would be sustained contact with a diseased animal or bird.\u201d<\/p>\n WA Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Michelle Rodan said that two vagrant species does not mean we have bird flu \u201cestablished\u201d in Australia but said the Consultative Committee of Emergency Animal Disease met on Saturday morning to coordinate a response and put together a national surveillance plan.<\/p>\n![\"Testing](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b77fb46de94caebdf5987e8ac26631c640152b8c.jpeg\")
Testing is underway on a bird suspected of having the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.<\/p>\n
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