Fur seal becomes first mammal fatality of H5 bird flu in Australia

A long-nosed fur seal has become the first mammal to die in Australia after becoming infected with the H5 avian influenza.

The positive bird flu result was in samples taken from the seal at Beechport in South Australia and likely occurred due to direct exposure to infected wild birds, or a shared environment, federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said.

“Although this is a concerning development, it is not unexpected for us to start to see infection in other wildlife, particularly in marine mammals, particularly in areas where there are high infection rates in wild birds,” Ms Collins said on Sunday.

“I have been advised that at this time the detection does not appear to be associated with other sick or dead marine mammals.”

Ms Collins acknowledged the news would be “distressing for many Australians, particularly for those people with a close connection to the wildlife and the land, including our First Nations people”.

She conceded it was “not possible to avoid significant losses” once the disease spread in the natural environment. More to come

Originally published as Fur seal becomes first mammal fatality of H5 bird flu in Australia