Bird Flu Has Reached Its Last Continent. Can It Be Stopped?

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

On a remote beach near Esperance, Western Australia, two sick seabirds have brought the bird flu crisis to Australia. Testing has confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in a brown skua and a giant petrel. Both are species of seabirds commonly found in the Southern Ocean.

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... H5N1 is a type of avian influenza, or bird flu, caused by an influenza A virus. The strain has been confirmed as HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, a globally circulating strain that can spread rapidly.

Over the past five years, this strain of the virus has killed millions of wild animals and poultry.

These are the first confirmed detections of this strain in Australia. But the coming weeks will tell us whether these are isolated cases, or the start of a wider outbreak.

Since 2021, the HPAI H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread through every continent except Australia.

Overseas, it has devastated wildlife and caused major losses in poultry.

This strain has also repeatedly spilled over into mammals including dairy cattle, seals and sea lions. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-06-23 01:23 AM | Reply