Bird Flu Cases Increase, Australia Requires Poultry Quarantine

ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Simon Reza

JAKARTA - The state of Victoria, Australia, will require poultry farmers to put birds in cages due to the increasing number of cases of H5N1 bird flu detected.

This makes Victoria the first region in Australia to implement the policy, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday, August 7.

The obligation to quarantine the birds is an expansion of a policy that was previously voluntary. The rule will apply to anyone who keeps more than 50 birds and is enforced for 14 days as an initial phase.

Victoria's Agriculture Minister, Michaela Settle, called the move a proactive and preventive measure so that poultry does not come into contact with wildlife that could potentially be infected with the virus.

Victoria's Chief Veterinary Officer Graeme Cook said the discovery of new bird flu cases in Yambuk, Apollo Bay and Clyde had prompted the local government to strengthen its response to the outbreak, as the virus continued to be detected in new areas of the state.

Meanwhile, as reported by ANTARA, the Head of the Australian Veterinary Officer, Beth Cookson, said the test results had confirmed 20 new positive cases in Victoria. All of them involve large crested terns in the Portland and Nelson areas.

According to ABC News, Australia has now recorded 175 confirmed or suspected H5N1 detections based on samples that have been tested.

However, Australian authorities said that to date no cases have been found in poultry or in the Australian agricultural production system. The risk to humans is also considered very low.

Concerns about the spread of H5N1 have also prompted the Royal Adelaide Show to cancel a bird and poultry exhibition scheduled for next month.