More than 1,000 birds found dead in three mass mortality events amid ‘significant’ H5 escalation in Australia

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas says there have still been no detections in poultry or livestock and no mass deaths involving mammals

The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas , has declared a “significant escalation” in H5 bird flu in the state after the detection of three mass mortality events involving more than 1,000 greater crested terns.

Malinauskas said the cause of the deaths was presumed to be H5 bird flu.

State authorities were also investigating a suspected case in a little penguin found on Kangaroo Island, with the premier telling the state parliament the development was of “particular concern”.

Separately, the Tasmanian government said it was investigating 28 little penguin deaths on King Island with testing under way to determine whether the birds died of H5 bird flu.

Malinauskas said aerial surveillance on Wednesday detected the three mass mortality events in South Australia , all on offshore islands where H5 bird flu had been detected in recent weeks.

He said more than 1,000 dead crested terns were found across Troubridge Island off the Yorke Peninsula and the Pages Islands – known as North Page and South Page – off Kangaroo Island.