Australia's Bird Flu Spreads to NSW; Experts Say Wild Birds at Fault

By Jose Resurreccion

Jun 19, 2024 06:00 AM EDT

Australia's Bird Flu Spreads to NSW; Experts Say Wild Birds at Fault — A sign warning of the dangers of importing avian products is displayed at Sydney International Airport September 28, 2005 in Sydney, Australia.
(Photo : Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

A poultry farm in the Greater Sydney basin in the Australian state of New South Wales is under quarantine after bird flu was detected in it.

Public broadcaster ABC reported that the state's Department of Primary Industries confirmed that an outbreak of an H7N8 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was detected on the egg farm, and was confirmed by the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness Wednesday (June 19).

The ABC added that the particular strain detected in New South Wales was neither the same one as the H5N1 strain causing concern globally, nor the H7N3 and H7N9 strains detected in the neighboring state of Victoria to the south.

It is understood that Australian supermarket giant Coles recently limited the purchase of eggs to two cartons per customer in all of its stores nationwide, except in Western Australia.

SBS reported that the state governments of NSW and Victoria urged consumers not to be worried about buying eggs and poultry from supermarkets as they do not pose a risk.

Australian Farming Experts: NSW Bird Flu a Separate Incident

In the aftermath of the new infection, Australian Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies said that the 100,000 birds on the farm would be destroyed as part of quarantine procedures, saying that it was a "very significant blow" to the farm involved, as well as in the industry.

In a statement, NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said that the detection was understood to be a "separate spill-over event," which meant that wild birds were the ones that interacted with the poultry in the farm.

The incident also triggered the state government to implement its emergency animal disease response, which effectively quarantined the affected farm in order to contain the infection, including a biosecurity control with a radius of 1-2 kilometers around the farm site.

McMonnies hoped that the quarantine effort would thwart the infection from spreading further.