The first case of deadly H5 bird flu in local wildlife has been recorded in a bird found on the South Australian coast.<\/p>\n
The federal agriculture minister, Julie Collins, said on Friday that a greater crested tern \u2013 a common coastal bird \u2013 had tested positive for the disease. The dead bird was found at Robe on SA\u2019s Limestone Coast by a member of the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this, of course, is a concerning development, it is not unexpected and is another sign that our strong biosecurity system is working,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
Until Friday, cases of bird flu had been detected in migratory subantarctic seabirds, mostly giant petrels, found on the coasts of SA, Western Australia and New South Wales.<\/p>\n
Environment groups said the development marked a possible turning point for the disease in Australia.<\/p>\n
Collins said the South Australian government was leading the response to the discovery of the greater crested tern by conducting extra surveillance to help establish whether there had been further spread in local wildlife.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we do know is that this is a coastal seabird that has an overlapping coastal range with migratory seabirds that have previously tested positive for H5,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the SA government said it had completed the largest aerial survey of the state\u2019s coastline, islands and reefs in 40 years and found \u201cno widespread evidence of sick or dead seabirds or seals\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Friday the government said the greater crested tern was found dead by a member of the public at Robe Marina on Tuesday who reported it the emergency animal disease hotline. The government said the bird was collected for testing that same day.<\/p>\n
Chris Purnell, the wetland and migratory shorebird program manager at BirdLife Australia, said the detection was \u201cvery, very concerning\u201d and represented a \u201cparadigm shift\u201d in the development of the disease in Australia.<\/p>\n
All previous confirmed detections had been in migratory birds that had likely brought the disease from the sub Antarctic, but the Greater crested tern was an Australian resident seabird.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose earlier detections were like little spot fires, but this [crested tern] suggests transmission has occurred on or near our beaches. We consider this to be a local transmission point.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Greater crested terns lived in large \u201cmixed flocks\u201d with other species which would generate opportunities for the disease to spread.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is only one bird, but it is very, very concerning, but not a surprise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The location of the bird – at Robe in South Australia and close to a network of coastal lakes with many birds – was also a concern, he said.<\/p>\n
Purnell said BirdLife Australia was particularly concerned about the Eastern hooded plover – a species listed as vulnerable and with populations living close to where the tern was found.<\/p>\n