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H5N1 avian influenza is spreading rapidly across southeastern Australia owing to infected wild bird species, including little penguins, magpies, crested terns and pelicans.<\/p>\n
Bird aggregations during breeding seasons will likely accelerate transmission to mammals, said Victoria\u2019s chief biodiversity officer James Todd.<\/p>\n
In late August, H5N1 jumped to a mammal<\/a><\/span>,<\/span> a red fox (Vulpes vulpes<\/em>), in Adelaide, South Australia.<\/p>\n Acting chief veterinary officer Cameron Bell said that while wild foxes generally do not spread the virus directly, scavenging pests risk moving infected carcasses across habitats, according to media reports<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n In September, state authorities confirmed H5N1 in an Australian sea lion<\/a><\/span> (Neophoca cinerea<\/em>) and a common dolphin<\/a><\/span> (Delphinus delphis<\/em>). South Australian Environment Minister Emily Bourke said that the sea lion \u2014 a critically endangered species<\/a><\/span> currently declining by 2% a year \u2014 was recovering from a shark attack when it succumbed to the virus, reports ABC Australia<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Cetacean researcher Mike Bossley is concerned<\/a><\/span> about how quickly a dolphin contracted the disease. In a news report, he called it both \u201cshocking \u2026 and very worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n Bourke added that South Australia has recorded bird flu in another mammal species, long-nosed fur seals<\/a><\/span> (Arctocephalus forsteri<\/em>) and confirmed the nation\u2019s first pelican case<\/a><\/span> on the Yorke Peninsula.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first confirmed H5N1 death recorded for [the Australian sea lion] in Australia marks a significant and worrying moment for Australian wildlife,\u201d Bill Bateman, associate professor of behavioral ecology at Curtin University, Australia, wrote in The Conversation<\/em><\/a><\/span>. He added that the evolving H5N1 strain can invade a mammal\u2019s central nervous system, causing severe brain inflammation.<\/p>\n The way marine mammals contract the virus is likely from birds<\/a>, Bateman wrote. Sick or dead seabirds can infect coastal breeding grounds, he added, either when animals eat them or come into contact with bodily fluids or contaminated water and substrate.<\/p>\n While there\u2019s no \u201creal way\u201d to stop the spread of H5N1 now that it\u2019s here, Bateman noted that there are ways to reduce its impact<\/a><\/span>. There is a way to limit exposure, he said. \u201cRemoving carcasses safely is crucial, as it removes these viral reservoirs, and stops it getting into Australia\u2019s many scavenging animals<\/a><\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n Along South Australia\u2019s Fleurieu Peninsula, volunteers with the Victor Harbor Dolphin Watch Group<\/a><\/span> are on the lookout for dolphins exhibiting abnormal swimming or neurological symptoms.<\/p>\n Bateman said the burden of the bird flu will reach far beyond birds, \u201cThis strain of the virus is a wide-ranging threat able to affect entire ecosystems. We must do what we can to protect them.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image<\/em><\/strong> of a common dolphin <\/em>(<\/em>Delphinus delphis) spotted off a port in the state of Victoria. Image courtesy of Ed Dunens via <\/em>Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/a><\/span> (<\/em>CC BY 2.0<\/em><\/a><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n
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