CANBERRA: A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza has reached an eighth poultry farm near Melbourne, the government of Australia’s Victoria state announced on Tuesday. This brings the total number of infected facilities in the country to ten.
Australia is currently facing three concurrent outbreaks of bird flu: two near Melbourne and one near Sydney. Each outbreak involves a different strain of the virus, none of which is the H5N1 type that has spread globally through bird and mammal populations and even to humans.
Victorian authorities stated that the new infection was within a pre-established quarantine zone around the affected farms, so it was not unexpected.
The flu has predominantly affected egg farms, with around 1.5 million birds having been or scheduled to be culled to control the virus’s spread. Despite this, there is currently no shortage of eggs in stores.
Bird flu typically spreads to farmed poultry from wild birds. The 2024 infections mark the tenth outbreak in Australia since 1976, all of which have been contained and eradicated according to the government.
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