Arabic version: فحص ست حالات مشتبه بها من إنفلونزا الطيور H5N1 في فيكتوريا

According to ABC News, authorities are testing six new suspected H5N1 bird flu cases in south-west Victoria, taking the number of newly discovered cases nationwide to 20. Australia has recorded 53 confirmed or presumed positive detections of the strain.

Victoria’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action said preliminary testing identified five suspected cases in crested terns. Three birds were found in Portland and two at nearby Nelson Bay. A further suspected case was announced in Portland the previous day. Samples will undergo further testing at the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness.

Victoria’s first positive H5 bird flu case was confirmed in Portland on Thursday. CSIRO testing also returned a positive result in a silver gull found at Robe, South Australia, marking the first confirmed detection of the virus in that species in Australia. Earlier in the week, local transmission of H5 bird flu occurred for the first time between a number of greater crested terns in South Australia.

Australian Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson said the threat to agriculture and people remained low, with no detections in poultry or the agricultural production system. Victorian Chief Veterinary Officer Graeme Cooke urged people not to touch sick or dead wildlife and to record and report sightings, saying early reports support surveillance and rapid sample collection.