Dead petrel at Horrocks presumed positive for bird flu, with nation looking at possible ‘wildlife pandemic’

A petrel found dead on Horrocks Beach is a presumed positive H5 bird flu case, with further testing unable to definitively determine the deadly strain through viral sequencing.

The dead bird was initially confirmed to be a suspected positive when tested in WA last week, and was sent to the CSIRO for further testing. That examination has resulted in it being declared presumed positive, WA’s seventh positive case and the northernmost case in the country.

As of Monday, there are 13 positive bird flu cases Australia-wide, with one report of bird flu in local wildlife.

There is currently no evidence of large-scale death in wildlife or infection in the poultry industry

Dr Lindall Kidd from BirdLife Australia said the presence of the petrel at Horrocks was “not normal” because they usually stayed offshore, but a sick bird may be “blown in” by large weather patterns.

Scientists in Australia have been preparing for the bird flu’s arrival in WA by doing surveillance on bird migration patterns and doing transmission mapping of the possible spread.

According to Dr Kidd, the greatest risk to native wildlife comes from birds carrying infection inland from migratory shorebirds.

“In terms of risk to your region, there’s no evidence yet of further spread inland,” she said.

Anyone who comes across a sick or dead bird should report it to the 24-hour emergency animal disease hotline on 1800 675 888.

Some locals have complained that their reports have not resulted in testing, but Dr Kidd explained that the hotline is run by trained vets who triage cases based on the likelihood of the bird to be a carrier of the virus.

“Obviously birds do die all the time, which has nothing to do with bird flu,” she said.

Since the first confirmed case of bird flu in Australia on June 19, there have been more than 1400 wildlife-related reports to the WA hotline.

Dr Kidd emphasises that we could be facing a “wildlife pandemic” if the disease gets into our mammals and marine life.

“The healthier a population of wildlife is before the virus goes through, the better it will fare, and the less the virus will spread, and that will then go on to have less of an impact on agriculture as well,” she said.

“If we invest in protecting our wildlife now, we can help to protect the agriculture and the economy and human health.”

Taking actions like keeping a pet cat inside at night or increasing predator control can help prepare the wildlife population for the blow of a widespread virus.