Australia reports first human avian flu infection (updated)

Inghams

22/05/2024 03:50

(Releads with first human bird flu infection)
    By Peter Hobson
       SYDNEY/CANBERRA, May 22 (Reuters) - Australia reported
its first human case of avian influenza on Wednesday in a child
who authorities said had been infected in India but made a full
recovery, while a different highly contagious strain was found
on an egg farm. 
    The H5N1 strain of avian flu has swept the globe in recent
years, killing billions of farmed and wild birds and spreading
to tens of mammal species.
    Health authorities in Australia's southeastern state of
Victoria said contact tracing had not identified any further
cases and there was a very low chance of others becoming
infected as the flu does not easily spread between people.
    "This is the first confirmed human case of highly pathogenic
avian influenza in Australia," Dr Claire Looker, the state's
chief health officer, said in a statement.
    It was the first instance of detection of the H5N1 strain 
in a person or animal in the country, she added.
    "The child experienced a severe infection but is no longer
unwell and has made a full recovery."
    The case in Victoria involves an H5N1 virus, but the strain
is not the same as those responsible for outbreaks in the United
States, Looker said. 
    A farm worker in Texas tested positive for the virus earlier
this year as it spread through the U.S. cattle herd.
    Australia is the only continent where animals have so far
stayed free of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, but authorities
on Wednesday said a different strain of highly pathogenic bird
flu had been detected at an egg farm near Melbourne. 
    First laboratory tests showed that virus was an as yet
unidentified H7 strain that probably came from the wild bird
population and had been seen in Australia before, said Graeme
Cooke, Victoria's chief veterinary officer.
    Curbs were imposed on movement around the farm and the birds
would be destroyed, he added. 
    "This area does have a high density of poultry businesses,
both egg laying and poultry meat," Cooke told Australian
Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio. 
    "At this stage we can't say whether there'll be any onward
spread to other properties. We are now taking measures necessary
to stamp it out to remove any onward spread."
    The outbreak presented no risk to human health, he said. 
    Only a small part of the industry has been affected, said
Rowan McMonnies, chief executive of industry body Australian
Eggs, adding that farmers would be "working hard to ensure there
are eggs on shelves".
    Chicken producer Inghams Group  ING.AX  plunged as much as
16% but pared losses to 5.5% by 0701 GMT after it said
operations had not been affected.
    The Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF) said companies
had stepped up biosafety measures as a precaution but added, "No
discernible impact is expected on chicken meat supplies at the
retail level." 
    In 2020, Victoria was the site of an H7N7 outbreak, the most
recent of Australia's nine outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza (HPAI) since 1976. All were quickly reined in and
stamped out, the government says.

 (Reporting by Peter Hobson and Lewis Jackson; Editing by
Stephen Coates and Clarence Fernandez)
 ((lewis.jackson@thomsonreuters.com; +61477406822; Reuters
Messaging: @lewjackk))