#19,269
A few hours ago Victoria announced their first H5N1 detection, once again in a greater crested tern, this time found in Portland. We've two announcements, first from Agriculture Victoria, and second by Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson announcing the confirmation from CSIRO.
H5N1 avian influenza strain detected in Victoria
30 July 2026
The high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 strain (H5 bird flu) has been detected in Victoria.
Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Graeme Cooke said this detection is a result of Australia’s response to H5 bird flu, with the Victorian Government undertaking surveillance for the disease and working closely with the Commonwealth, interstate jurisdictions and industry partners.
‘Preliminary testing has indicated H5 bird flu in a single greater crested tern found in Portland. Further genetic testing is underway at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness at Geelong to formally confirm this result.’ Dr Cooke said.
‘This follows confirmation of the disease in seabirds in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, and the national decision that H5 bird flu is no longer technically feasible to eradicate in wildlife.’
‘Following weeks of enhanced readiness, we have now enacted Victoria’s State Emergency Animal Disease Response Plan. Based on international experience, this H5 variant differs from previous strains and has been known to cause large numbers of deaths in wild birds and some mammals.’
‘Our plans aim to limit impacts where possible particularly on our most threatened species, while also supporting our farmers and reducing risk to domestic and commercial poultry.
‘We need Victorians to avoid contact with sick or dead wildlife, record what they see and report it. Early reporting gives us the best chance to reduce the impacts of the disease,’ Dr Cooke said.
30 July 2026
Attributable to Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson:
Testing at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) has confirmed H5 bird flu in a greater crested tern, found in Portland in Victoria.
This is the first case in the state of Victoria.
There have now been 29 confirmed or presumed positive detections of H5 bird flu in Australia.
All of these have been wild seabirds found in coastal locations.
There remains no evidence of any mass mortality events and there are no detections in poultry or in our agricultural production system.
The risk to human health remains low
Meanwhile, South Australia has confirmed a 15th case (a Giant Petrel), and reports an additional 24 suspect cases are pending confirmation by CSIRO.
Current situation
South Australia’s first confirmed detection of H5 bird flu was in a wild migratory bird (southern giant petrel) on Wednesday, 24 June at Knights Beach at Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Further confirmed detections include a giant petrel (8 July at Hardwicke Bay, Yorke Peninsula); a southern giant petrel (10 July at Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island); a northern giant petrel (10 July at Port Vincent, Yorke Peninsula); three greater crested terns (10 July at Robe, Limestone Coast; 26 July at Semaphore, metro Adelaide; and 26 July at Robe, Limestone Coast); seven greater crested terns (28 July at Cape Jaffa, Port MacDonnell and Southend, Lower South East); and a giant petrel (30 July at Port Lincoln, Eyre Peninsula).
A further 24 suspected H5 bird flu detections are undergoing further confirmatory testing at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Victoria.
The strain of virus is consistent with the strain detected in the Southern Indian Ocean Sub-Antarctic Territories, including Heard Island.
This strain has not been detected in poultry and has not become established in any part of Australia.
Up-to-date national information is available at birdflu.gov.au.
Although the official numbers remain reassuring low (n=29), they undoubtedly represent only a small fraction of actual H5 burden on wildlife in Australia. Two weeks ago, we looked at the growing gap between reported events, prioritized and investigated cases, and lab testing in Western Australia.
I've not seen an update from WA since July 17th - where total reports then exceeded 1,800 - and sadly, other states have not provided this sort of granular detail.
Obviously, no surveillance and testing program can hope to capture more than a small fraction of the HPAI activity in birds or animals in the wild. At best, it can give us some idea as to the spread, intensity, and host range of HPAI H5 across the continent.But it is a fairly safe assumption that similar backlogs exist around the nation.
And right now, based on available data, H5N1 appears to be making significant inroads down under.
