Bird flu H7N3 detected at second farm in Melbourne, farmers on high alert

The case of H7N3 avian influenza was confirmed at a property in Terang, southwest of Melbourne. Photo / John Stone

Bird flu has been detected at a second Victorian farm as authorities remain on high alert for further outbreaks.

The case of avian influenza (H7N3) was confirmed at a property in Terang, about 200 kilometres southwest of Melbourne, on Thursday.

The site is linked to the Meredith egg farm, 130km away, where a mass culling of 400,000 chickens is taking place after several birds died from the same virus.

Avian influenza has been confirmed at a second Victorian poultry farm in Terang.

Control orders are in place restricting movement of poultry, poultry products, equipment and vehicles around the infected premises.

Report sick or dead birds 👉 https://t.co/bq6qMabTvC pic.twitter.com/SvSvYRXOgC

— Agriculture Victoria (@VicGovAg) May 23, 2024

Both farms share management, staff and machinery.

Agriculture Victoria said the Terang property was under quarantine and officers had extended control orders to include a 1.5km restricted area.

A 5km restricted area has been placed around the Meredith farm and both sites are subject to a broader control area buffer.

”We encourage the community to play their part so we can suppress and eliminate this outbreak,” Victoria’s chief veterinarian, Graeme Cooke, said.

”Poultry owners who reside within the restricted and control areas are asked to follow the restrictions and to report any unexplained bird deaths.

“While cases among humans in direct contact with animals infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses are possible, the current risk to the public remains low.”

In Western Australia, biosecurity measures have been tightened at a poultry farm in the southwest after an unrelated strain of avian influenza was found.

Authorities say the WA detection is a H9N2 strain.

”H9 strains of avian influenza are known to occur in wild bird populations in Australia and have previously been detected in WA,” the state’s acting chief vet, Katie Webb, said.

”The property is currently under a pest control notice to manage the movement of relevant animals and products off the property.”

On Wednesday, a child was confirmed as Australia’s first human case of a lethal strain of avian influenza spreading around the world.

The child, who returned to Victoria from India in March, experienced a “severe infection” after contracting the H5N1 strain but had made a full recovery, Victoria’s chief health officer, Clare Looker, confirmed.

Authorities say contact tracing has not identified any further cases.

The Victorian detection of avian influenza has put egg farmers on high alert across Australia.

”Any biosecurity outbreak becomes concerning to us as farmers,” Victorian Farmers Federation vice-president Danyel Cucinotta told AAP.

Egg farmers across Australia are on high alert after the avian influenza strain H7N3 was detected in Victoria. Photo / NZME

”We are on a wild bird flight path, especially from Southeast Asia, and that just means we’re at a higher risk all the time.”

She said producers were taking extra precautions.

”Anything coming into the farm, such as trucks, could bring in disease. It could be people. It could be packaging, it could be pellets.”

Avian influenza is a highly contagious viral infection that can cause severe symptoms and sudden death in domestic poultry, wiping out entire populations.

Wild birds are the natural hosts for the disease and it can spread through close contact or contaminated environments.

Authorities have reassured the public that eggs and poultry products in supermarkets do not pose a risk and are safe to consume.