CANBERRA, Aug. 25 — Authorities in South Australia (SA) on Tuesday said they will vaccinate about 100 captive birds against the H5N1 strain of avian influenza amid a growing outbreak in the state.
Clare Scriven, SA’s minister for primary industries and regional development, and state Environment Minister Emily Bourke told reporters that a vaccination program has been approved for populations of 30 species at the Cleland Wildlife Park in southeast Adelaide.
They said that critically endangered orange-bellied parrots and regent honeyeaters are among the species that will be vaccinated at the park. “Vaccinating wildlife is challenging because the bird flu vaccine requires multiple doses, making it difficult to catch the same bird twice; however, Cleland Wildlife Park provides an environment where successful vaccination of captive birds is achievable,” Bourke said.
The SA Department of Primary Industries and Regions on Tuesday reported 10 new suspected H5N1 events and confirmed that a long-nosed fur seal that was found dead at an island conservation park off the state’s coast returned a positive result for the strain.
It marks the second confirmed case of the highly pathogenic strain in a mammal in Australia, after the first was reported on Sunday in a long-nosed fur seal found in mainland SA. According to the latest data from the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, as of Monday there had been 318 confirmed positive events of H5N1 bird flu in Australian wildlife, 194 of which have been in SA.
Speaking alongside Scriven and Bourke on Tuesday, federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said Australia has around 12,000 vials of the vaccine available. The federal government announced earlier in August that vulnerable species in captivity would be prioritized for vaccination.
