South Australia has recorded its second confirmed case of H5 bird flu, while the largest aerial survey of the state’s coastline in more than four decades has found no evidence of widespread impacts on wildlife.
The latest confirmed detection was in a giant petrel collected from Hardwicke Bay on the Yorke Peninsula. It follows South Australia’s first confirmed case, recorded on June 24 in another giant petrel at Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Testing at PIRSA’s Glenside facility has also identified two further suspect cases in giant petrels. Both birds were collected on Monday July 6, one from Port Vincent on the Yorke Peninsula and another from Emu Bay on Kangaroo Island. Samples from both birds have been sent to the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong for further analysis.
Importantly, bird flu has not been detected in commercial poultry or any non-migratory wild birds in South Australia, nor has it become established in any part of Australia.
The rapid surveillance operation covered almost 5,000 kilometres of coastline, with more than 30,000 seabirds and seals recorded from about 600 locations, including islands, islets and reefs between the Head of Bight and The Pages, east of Kangaroo Island.
The State Government says the survey is the largest coordinated assessment of South Australia’s offshore islands and coastal wildlife since the landmark island surveys of the 1970s and early 1980s, which took almost a decade to build a picture of the state’s offshore biodiversity.
This new survey, described as the first of many, was carried out in two and a half days using helicopters, a fixed wing plane, remote-control drones and ground crews.
It provides a baseline of population size and breeding locations for key marine species, including coastal seabirds, Long-nosed Fur Seals and Australian Sea Lions, which can be impacted by H5 bird flu.
No evidence of multiple sick or dead seabirds or seals, or widespread impact, was observed during the surveys, with conditions appearing normal across the areas surveyed.
Additional aerial surveys have also targeted other remote parts of the state, including Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, the Riverland, the Lower Lakes and the Coorong.
Acting Premier Kyam Maher said the operation would help South Australia respond quickly to any future risks.
“An exercise like this has never been undertaken before in South Australia.
“By investing in large-scale, rapid surveys, we are improving the information needed to identify risks early, guide timely decisions and protect both our environment and the sectors that depend on it.
“This latest aerial surveillance represents the biggest coordinated assessment of our coastal and island wildlife in more than forty years.
“It will help to identify potential bird flu impacts early and inform rapid, evidence-based responses to safeguard seabirds, seals and other vulnerable species.”
Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven said the survey results were reassuring, while noting the risk had not passed.
“The results from the rapid surveillance operation are reassuring, across around 600 survey locations, including 86 islands, islets and reefs, no widespread evidence of sick or dead seabirds or seals were observed.
“While this does not remove the risk of further detections, it gives us a strong and timely picture of what is happening across some of our most important coastal and island environments.
“The information gathered will be invaluable for our ongoing surveillance and response planning, giving us a comprehensive baseline immediately after South Australia’s first confirmed detection.
“We are continuing to act early and prepare carefully, while asking the community to remain vigilant and report any sick or dead birds or wildlife.”
Professor Mike Steer, Executive Director of SARDI, said the survey was particularly important for monitoring Australian sea lions.
“This provides an invaluable baseline against which we can detect future changes associated with H5 bird flu or other emerging threats.
“Australia is home to the only population of Australian sea lions in the world, and more than 80 per cent of the species occurs in South Australia.
“They are nationally listed as Endangered, making them one of our highest-priority marine conservation concerns.
“When H5 bird flu spread through South America, it caused catastrophic mortality in South American sea lions, killing tens of thousands of animals over a very short period.
“That experience highlights why we are taking the threat so seriously here, and why rapid, coordinated surveillance is so important to protect South Australia’s unique marine wildlife.”
South Australia has been preparing for H5 bird flu for several years, with the State and Federal Governments investing a combined $8.1 million into PIRSA to strengthen emergency response capability, surveillance, diagnostics, workforce capacity and overall readiness.
A further $3.5 million has been invested into the Department for Environment and Water by the Federal Government to support preparedness and resilience activities for the environment and at-risk wildlife.
Federal funding has also been allocated to the Zoo and Aquarium Association to help safeguard threatened native species at Cleland Wildlife Park, Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park.
The community is being urged to report any sick or dead birds or wildlife showing possible signs of bird flu, including multiple sick or dead birds in one location, weakness, inability to stand or fly, abnormal behaviour, swelling, discolouration or respiratory distress.
Anyone who sees sick or dead birds or other wildlife should not touch them. Avoid contact, record what you see and report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
For more information on bird flu, visit birdflu.gov.au. For information on bird flu preparedness in South Australia, visit pir.sa.gov.au/birdflu.
