Breaking: H5 bird flu testing underway for mass mortality of terns on SA island

H5 bird flu testing underway for mass mortality of terns off Cape Jaffa Sat 1 Aug 2026 at 4:08pm , updatedSat 1 Aug 2026 at 4:09pm South Australian authorities are investigating a mass bird mortality event after more than 80 dead and sick birds were found off the state's south-east coast. At this stage, the birds are not being considered as "suspected cases" while they undergo testing for H5 bird flu in Adelaide. State aerial surveillance detected 49 dead and 35 sick greater crested terns on an island called Baudin Rocks, about five kilometres south of Cape Jaffa on Friday. "We do need to wait for the lab testing but given it is an island that has a large number of crested terns and a large number of sick and dead crested terns, we are of course expecting that we would get some bad news from that situation in the coming days," SA Chief Veterinary Officer Skye Fruean said. Twenty previously suspected cases of H5 bird flu have now been confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in South Australia to 39. Loading