Australia recorded its initial human case of Avian influenza on May 22, involving a child who authorities stated was infected in India but has since fully recovered.
Additionally, a separate highly contagious strain was detected at an egg farm near Melbourne in the country’s southeastern state of Victoria.
The H5N1 strain of avian flu has seen global spread in recent years, resulting in the deaths of billions of farmed and wild birds and transmission to numerous mammal species.
Health officials in Victoria reassured the public that contact tracing efforts had not uncovered any additional cases, and the risk of further transmission was very low due to the limited human-to-human spread of the flu virus.
Dr. Claire Looker, the state’s chief health officer, noted that this marked the first confirmed human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Australia.
She emphasised that while the child experienced a severe infection, they have since recovered fully.
Additionally, this incident represented the first detection of the H5N1 strain in a person or animal in the country.
In Victoria, Dr. Looker emphasised that while the H5N1 virus was detected, it differed from strains causing US outbreaks.
Conversely, a farm worker in Texas tested positive for the virus earlier in 2024 amid its spread through the US cattle herd.
Despite Australia being the sole continent without H5N1 avian influenza among animals, authorities reported a different highly pathogenic bird flu strain detected at an egg farm near Melbourne on May 22.
According to Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Graeme Cooke, initial tests revealed an unidentified H7 strain likely originating from wild bird populations and previously observed in Australia.
Movement restrictions were enforced around the farm, and the affected birds would be culled to prevent further spread. Dr. Cooke noted the area’s dense poultry business presence, emphasizing the need for containment measures.
However, he assured that the outbreak posed no immediate risk to human health.
Rowan McMonnies, chief executive of industry body Australian Eggs, reassured consumers, stating that only a small segment of the industry had been impacted.
He emphasised farmers’ commitment to maintaining egg availability on store shelves.
What you need to know
Following news of the outbreak, chicken producer Inghams Group initially experienced a significant drop, plummeting up to 16%. However, the company later recovered to a 5.5% loss after confirming that its operations remained unaffected.
The Australian Chicken Meat Federation reported that companies had implemented additional biosafety measures as a precautionary measure.
They also assured that there would be no noticeable impact on chicken meat supplies at the retail level.
Victoria’s 2020 H7N7 outbreak marked the most recent occurrence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Australia since 1976.
Despite this, the government swiftly contained and eradicated all nine outbreaks over the years.
The recently reported case was in a child who returned to Australia from India in March 2024. The child experienced a severe infection but has made a full recovery.
There is no evidence of transmission in Victoria and the chance of additional human cases is very low as Avian influenza does not easily spread between people.
Although there is a current global outbreak of avian influenza in birds and animals, Avian influenza does not usually infect people, however in rare cases human infection can occur.
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