Category Archives: Bird Flu

US to survey dairy cattle brought to slaughter to study bird flu infections

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Regulators will inspect cows to see how widespread virus is and determine whether ageing and cooking inactivate it

The US will track bird flu infections in dairy cows brought to slaughter to understand the ways the virus infects meat and will also continue testing raw milk cheeses to see whether the virus is inactivated in the ageing process.

The renewed focus on the US food chain is the latest front in the effort to combat the infectious bird flu virus, or H5N1, which has triggered alarm bells across the world as a potential future pandemic.

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Ecologists warn deadly H5N1 bird flu could arrive in Australia via Antarctica as preparations ramp up

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Influx of highly pathogenic strain a case of ‘not if, but when’ and could devastate native wildlife, experts say

The Australian government is ramping up preparations for a highly pathogenic and contagious strain of bird flu potentially reaching Australia via its Antarctic territory and Macquarie Island, warning it could devastate wildlife and be passed to people.

Government agencies led by the Australian Antarctic Division at a planning exercise in Hobart on Wednesday were told an influx of the virulent H5N1 Avian flu strain that has killed millions of seabirds, wild birds and poultry overseas was a case of “not if, but when”.

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Flu vaccine will curb bird flu risk for US farm workers, CDC deputy director says

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US launches major vaccination campaign in a bid to prevent healthcare strain and potential mutations of H5N1 virus

In the face of serious concerns over the spreading bird flu virus in US agriculture, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pushing a major flu vaccination campaign among farm workers in a bid to prevent healthcare strain and combat potential mutations from the highly pathogenic bird virus.

Part of the campaign will seek to combat disinformation about vaccines, which has hampered previous efforts.

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Michigan leading US on monitoring and studying bird flu outbreak

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Daily text messages and phone calls check on farm workers who work with cows that have tested positive for H5N1

As questions swirl about the spread of bird flu among livestock and people, one US state – Michigan – has taken the lead on monitoring and studying the outbreak.

Other states have seemed wary of tracking cases among animals and people, but Michigan has taken a proactive approach, with daily text messages and phone calls to check on farm workers who work with cows that have tested positive for H5N1. They also have offered free tests if symptoms develop.

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Top CDC officials warns US needs ‘more tests’ in face of bird flu fears

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Agency principal deputy director wants more testing of farm workers who work in proximity to affected animals

There is not enough testing for bird flu among people and animals in the US, says Dr Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – but he is wary of pushing the issue and damaging fragile trust among farm workers and owners.

“We would like to be doing more tests,” Shah said. “We’d like to be testing particularly not just symptomatic workers, but anyone on a farm who is exposed.”

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Police investigate after pro-Palestinian slogans graffitied on Canberra war memorial – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

The education minister, Jason Clare, has said stricter regulations on social media for teenagers had bipartisan support.

Speaking to Channel 7’s Sunrise, Clare called social media a “cesspit”, and added that Labor’s age verification trial would be the first step to protecting young people.

I think we all agree that social media’s a cesspit. We all agree we don’t want our kids on it. It’s about how do you do it?

This should be something where the Labor party and the Liberal party can work together.

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Egg farmers say supply not at risk from bird flu after Coles imposes two-carton limit on shoppers

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Supermarket’s restriction applies everywhere except WA as more than 500,000 chickens euthanised due to avian influenza

Egg farmers have rushed to reassure consumers that there is no shortage of eggs after the supermarket chain Coles announced a two-carton limit in response to the avian influenza outbreak in Victoria.

The highly pathogenic H7N3 strain of bird flu has been detected on four farms in western Victoria, and another highly pathogenic strain, H7N9, has been detected at a fifth farm. More than half a million chickens have been euthanised in an effort to stop the spread of the disease.

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CDC warns of more US bird flu cases after second human infected by cows

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Centers for Disease Control notes high levels of virus in raw milk amid outbreak among cows, after Michigan dairy worker infected

A Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu – the second human case associated with an outbreak in US dairy cows, after a case emerged in Texas earlier this spring.

The new patient had mild eye symptoms and has recovered, US and Michigan health officials said in announcing the case on Wednesday afternoon. The worker had been in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and the risk to the public remains low, officials said.

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Lack of bird flu testing may be hiding true spread of virus on US farms

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H5N1 has been found in commercially available milk – but gaps in testing of cattle and humans are hampering effort to stop virus

Serious gaps in testing animals and people could be obscuring the true rate of avian influenza cases in the US and make it difficult to understand how the H5N1 virus is spreading – and how to stop it, experts say.

Facing reluctance from farms to test workers and animals, scientists are now turning to experimental studies to understand how H5N1, a highly pathogenic bird flu, is spreading through cows and on to other farms.

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Australia’s back yard chicken owners urged to implement biosecurity measures in case of bird flu outbreak

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Australia is the only continent free from the highly contagious H5N1 virus, after it was detected in wild bird colonies in Antarctica in February

Back yard chicken owners in Australia have been urged to implement biosecurity measures to prevent contact with wild birds in the wake of a global avian influenza outbreak.

Australia remains the only continent without HPAI H5 (high pathogenicity avian influenza of subtype H5), after scavenging skua birds on mainland Antartica tested positive for bird flu in February. Symptoms for affected birds include diarrhoea, sneezing, a reduction in egg production and sudden death.

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Polar bear dies from bird flu as H5N1 spreads across globe

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Highly contagious virus could bring “one of largest ecological disasters of modern times” say scientists

A polar bear has been killed by bird flu as the highly contagious H5N1 virus spreads into the most remote parts of the planet.

The death was confirmed in December by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. “This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere,” Dr Bob Gerlach, Alaska’s state veterinarian, told the Alaska Beacon.

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Galápagos Islands tightens biosecurity as avian flu threatens unique species

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Scientists confirm three birds have died from virus as park authorities redouble efforts to protect islands’ endemic birds

National park authorities on the Galápagos Islands have heightened biosecurity measures to protect the archipelago’s unique fauna from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza after scientists confirmed that three birds had died from the virus.

“From preliminary tests of the five specimens, three of them have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza,” Danny Rueda, director of the Galápagos national park told the Guardian. Two frigate birds and one red-footed booby were confirmed to have died from the virus on Tuesday, after samples were sent to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland for examination.

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Avian flu may have killed millions of birds globally as outbreak ravages South America

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Virus has spread around the world, with 200,000 wild birds dead in Peru alone and concerns Australia could be next

Millions of wild birds may have died from bird flu globally in the latest outbreak, researchers have said, as the viral disease ravages South America, with 200,000 deaths recorded in Peru alone.

The highly infectious variant of H5N1, which gained momentum in the winter of 2021, caused Europe’s worst bird flu outbreak before spreading globally. The disease reached South America in November 2022, and has now been reported on every continent except Oceania and Antarctica.

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Bird flu: H5N1 virus in Brazil wild birds prompts animal health emergency

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Health declaration to last 180 days, as world’s biggest exporter of chicken meat detects virus for first time ever

Brazil has declared a state of animal health emergency for 180 days in response to its first ever detection of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in wild birds.

Brazil – the world’s biggest chicken meat exporter with US$9.7bn in sales in 2022 – has so far confirmed eight cases of the H5N1 in wild birds, including seven in Espirito Santo state and one in Rio de Janeiro state.

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Australia poorly prepared for deadly avian flu that kills millions of wild birds, experts warn

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Conservationists call for national response plan for possible arrival of HPAI H5, which so far has affected 300 species worldwide

Conservationists have warned Australia is poorly prepared for the potential arrival of a deadly form of avian influenza that has killed millions of birds and thousands of mammals overseas.

When HPAI H5 (high pathogenicity avian influenza of subtype H5) arrived in South America late last year it killed more than 60,000 seabirds and 3,500 sea lions within weeks in Peru alone.

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Farne Islands to remain closed after three new cases of bird flu detected

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National Trust rangers brace for second year of mass deaths on islands off Northumberland coast

A group of islands that make up one of the UK’s most important bird sanctuaries are to remain closed after new cases of avian flu were detected.

The disease devastated the seabird population of the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, last year and National Trust rangers expect thousands more deaths this year.

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Avian flu outbreak in the Gambia threatens birds on East Atlantic Flyway

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Hundreds of dead birds found in past three weeks as conservationists call for international funding to help stop the disease spreading on migration routes

An outbreak of avian influenza in seabirds in the Gambia could affect vast numbers of birds migrating along the East Atlantic Flyway, unless international funding is secured, warn conservationists.

Teams from the West African Bird Study Association (Wabsa), the Gambia’s Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, and UK-based NGO Conservation Without Borders have buried hundreds of dead birds over the past three weeks, including some ringed birds from Europe.

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Farne Islands shut to visitors over fears of new avian flu outbreak

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Rangers work to avoid repeat of last year’s devastating losses in breeding seabird colonies on the islands off the Northumberland coast

The Farne Islands will not open to visitors this spring in anticipation of bird flu once again ravaging breeding seabird colonies, after an “unprecedented” spate of deaths last year.

The rocky outcrop of islands off the coast of Northumberland has been looked after by the National Trust since 1925 and there are no previous records of so many endangered seabirds dying at once. More than 6,000 carcasses were picked up last year, which is believed to be the tip of the iceberg compared with how many birds would have died in total.

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Producers feared David Attenborough would catch bird flu and die during filming

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Plans to film veteran broadcaster close to birds for Wild Isles series pulled over concerns about his health

Television producers feared David Attenborough would catch bird flu and die during filming for his latest series – likely to be the veteran broadcaster’s last job on location.

Wild Isles, which premieres on Sunday, will be Attenborough’s first landmark series on the natural history of Britain and Ireland. Filmed over the course of three years, the five-part series aims to shine a light on the challenges affecting the British Isles and celebrate nature that exists on our doorsteps.

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WHO says avian flu cases in humans ‘worrying’ after girl’s death in Cambodia

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Child died and father tested positive for H5N1, prompting fears of possible person-to-person transmission

The discovery of two cases of bird flu within the same family in Cambodia has highlighted the concern over potential human-to-human spread of the virus, although experts have stressed the risk remains low.

On Thursday, Cambodian authorities reported an 11-year-old girl from Prey Veng province had died from H5N1, with subsequent testing of 12 of her contacts revealing that her father also had the virus.

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