Arabic version: دلفين في خليج إنكاونتر يسجل نتيجة إيجابية لإنفلونزا الطيور H5
According to ABC News, a dead common dolphin that washed ashore at Encounter Bay on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula has returned a positive result for H5 bird flu. South Australia’s chief veterinary officer, Skye Fruean, said the dolphin washed ashore during the week.
Dr Fruean said the risk of an extensive outbreak among dolphins was low, describing infection as a chance encounter in which a dolphin comes into contact with an infected wild bird. She said authorities were more concerned about land-based sea mammals, including seals and sea lions, and said a large dolphin die-off from bird flu was not expected.
The positive result brings South Australia’s total to 340 H5 bird flu events. These events are not individual case reports; they refer to confirmed positive tests affecting at least one animal from a species at a single location. Dr Fruean said the frequency of positive detections had slowed, although cases were still being recorded consistently. She said recent events had not shown significant numbers of individual deaths or signs of mass mortality.
Crested tern populations have experienced significant impacts, Dr Fruean said. A vaccination program has been completed for selected birds at Cleland Wildlife Park and is halfway finished for birds at Zoos SA facilities. The federal government has confirmed vaccines will be released for a South Australian little penguin program.
Operational preparations are continuing for vaccinations in little penguin colonies on Granite Island, at Penneshaw and at Emu Bay. Dr Fruean said she did not yet have a start date for the penguin vaccination plans.
