00:01At this stage, Lorna, authorities are asking the public to record and report when they
00:09come across unwell birds or wildlife and critically to avoid coming into contact with them as
00:17local transmission of this deadly H5N1 bird flu is detected among 11 of those greater
00:26crested turns in South Australia. It takes the total number of cases confirmed in the
00:33country to 27. Ten of those are in WA, 14 in South Australia, two in New South Wales and
00:40one case in Queensland. Importantly, so far there have been no detections in commercial
00:47poultry or in the agricultural sector and no mass mortalities to date. Now, this type
00:55of bird flu has obviously spread across the world where it's killed hundreds of millions
01:01of birds and also tens of millions of seals. So the immediate concern is for endemic species,
01:09particularly on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, which is home to sea lions and also endangered
01:19species of long-nosed seals. The Agriculture Minister, Julie Collins, has stated that essentially
01:27once this virus spreads to wildlife, it won't be able to be contained and deaths will be an
01:35inevitability.
01:37Clearly, we will expect to see increased evidence and deaths of wildlife and certainly we will
01:44expect to see that given there has been some local transmission. But it does behave differently
01:49and once it becomes established, what we do know from overseas is that it is not able to
01:55be eradicated. So what we will do is continue to monitor and evaluate and see where this disease
02:01is in Australia.
02:02So Sarah, has there been any reaction from the poultry industry?
02:05Yeah, there has. Despite no official advice being issued from the federal government, the
02:13National Farmers Federation is urging poultry producers to urgently review their biosecurity
02:19plans. Though at the same time, we've heard from primary producers SA, which is just underscoring
02:26that there is no risk of transmission of this virus to humans who come into contact with chicken
02:33meat or eggs in the commercial supply chain, underscoring the fact that no cases have been
02:39detected in commercial poultry or the agriculture sector. Still, Australia's Chief Veterinary
02:47Officer, Dr Beth Cookson, says that there are things farmers can do to increase their preparedness.
02:55It's always a good idea for poultry farmers or any bird keepers to review and make sure that
03:03they have got good biosecurity plans in place and that they're taking consideration of the
03:08types of actions that can prevent that exposure between wild birds and kept birds. There is some
03:15really good advice available on birdflu.gov.au. There's a range of resources that poultry producers
03:22and bird keepers can draw on which talks about the types of considerations around preventing that
03:30contact between wild birds and poultry and as I've mentioned, making sure that there's no contamination
03:37of food, water sources or equipment. So this H5 bird flu virus is not considered a significant risk
03:47risk. To humans, it can however harm and even kill domestic cats or pet birds. So pet owners are being
03:55advised to monitor animals for symptoms including sudden difficulty breathing or moving and for the
04:03general public, they are being encouraged to be aware, monitor wildlife and report any instances of
04:13unwell birds or other wildlife they may come across to authorities.
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