Australia has confirmed its first case of the deadly H5 bird flu in a little penguin on Victoria’s Phillip Island. The confirmation comes just days after the state government announced plans to begin vaccinating the species. The government has not disclosed the exact location where the infected bird was found, but stated it was not within the island’s famous penguin parade area. The little penguin has since died, sparking concerns about the potential for mass deaths among the island’s population.
Phillip Island is home to the world’s largest colony of little penguins, with approximately 40,000 birds. Environment advocates have long been concerned about the risks posed by the H5 bird flu to the island’s wildlife. According to Euan Ritchie, a professor in wildlife ecology and conservation at Deakin University, the detection of the virus in the little penguin population is ‘devastating.’ Ritchie emphasized the need for governments to provide necessary resources to help wildlife survive and recover from the outbreak.
In response to the outbreak, the Victorian government has announced plans for the world’s largest H5 bird flu vaccination program of wild birds. The program aims to vaccinate up to 5,000 little penguins across populations at Phillip Island and Melbourne’s St Kilda beach. While vaccinating wild birds is challenging, the government believes it is possible in Victoria’s wild little penguins due to their predictable behavior. However, vaccination requires two doses with a gap of a few weeks between each dose, raising concerns that it may be too late for some little penguins to develop immunity.
Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, acknowledged the concerns surrounding the detection of the virus in a little penguin. Todd stated that the government is proceeding with vaccination efforts as a priority to protect the little penguin colonies. The state’s chief veterinary officer, Dr. Graeme Cooke, added that Agriculture Victoria and Phillip Island Nature Parks have activated plans to vaccinate little penguins as soon as the federal government authorized the vaccines for priority native bird species.
The Victorian government has also reported two further detections of H5 in greater crested terns, one at Lakes Entrance and the other at Dromana on the Mornington peninsula. Meanwhile, the NSW government has confirmed the fifth detected case in the state, in a tern found at Eden on the far south coast. The government has increased surveillance in the area as a result.
