H5 bird flu suspected in a fur seal near Kangaroo Island
H5 bird flu has been suspected in a long-nosed fur seal at The Pages conservation park near Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The case has not yet been confirmed, ABC News Australia reports, citing South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions.
Samples sent for testing
Samples collected during the new suspected cases were sent to the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness for confirmatory testing. Results are expected in the coming days.
Authorities also reported five new suspected cases in South Australia. The suspected case in the fur seal was identified a day after the announcement of Australia’s first confirmed H5 virus case in a mammal.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
It concerns a seal that was found dead last week in Beachport, in southeastern South Australia.
Threat to sea lions
The Pages are two small islands off the coast of Kangaroo Island. The H5 strain was detected there last week, and a mass die-off among birds, linked to this strain, occurred there.
The islands are an important breeding site for the endangered Australian sea lion. The Invasive Species Council warned that the disease entering colonies of these animals could have consequences that would threaten their survival. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt called the confirmed case in the seal a serious but expected development and said Australia would likely see more mass die-offs among birds and mammals.
