Sydney, August 8: Australia is witnessing a troubling rise in H5N1 bird flu cases, with the number of infected birds surpassing 200. In response, the southeastern state of Victoria has initiated new precautionary measures to prevent the spread of this deadly strain among poultry.
The Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) reported that as of Saturday, there have been 203 confirmed cases of the H5N1 strain in Australia.
This month alone, H5N1 bird flu cases have surged by 290%, up from just 52 at the end of July. In South Australia (SA), 28 out of 147 birds found were confirmed to be infected.
DAFF noted that all 28 new cases in SA involved wild seabirds.
Victoria ranks second in terms of infected birds, reporting 43 cases, with 36 confirmed on Thursday and Friday, primarily near the SA border in the west of the state.
On Friday, the Victorian government issued a directive requiring poultry farms in southern coastal areas, including Melbourne, with at least 50 birds to keep them indoors for an initial period of 14 days.
Victoria’s Agriculture Minister, Michaela Settle, expressed hope that these precautionary measures will help contain the spread of the H5N1 strain.
Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Beth Cookson, stated that following the confirmation of new cases in SA and Victoria, the total number of cases in the country has reached 102, with 81 located in SA.
Cookson reassured that there have been no reports of the virus affecting Australia’s agricultural system, posing no immediate threat to humans.
On Tuesday, Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt indicated on ABC Radio that further increases in cases of this lethal infection are likely. The federal government confirmed the first large-scale deaths from the H5N1 strain on Monday. Scientific organization CSIRO found that a significant number of dead Greater Crested Terns (seabirds) in South Australia were infected with H5N1.
The H5N1 bird flu strain previously led to the deaths of nearly 30,000 sea lions in South America within six months in 2022. Additionally, between August 2025 and January 2026, approximately 13,359 southern elephant seal pups were killed on Heard Island in the Southern Ocean.
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