Fears shared on Australia reaching bleak milestone in spread of H5 bird flu

Citizen scientists who have found dead birds during South Australia's harmful algal bloom say finding sick and dying birds since H5 bird flu arrived in Australia has been even more distressing. Authorities are investigating a mass bird mortality event after 80 dead and sick birds were found on an island near Cape Jaffa on Friday. What's next? Results on the findings are expected in the coming days. Citizen scientists Johanna Williams and Susan Belperio have been witnessing dead birds wash up on their beloved Glenelg Beach since South Australia's harmful algal bloom began last year. But both bird enthusiasts said finding sick birds since the H5 bird flu arrived in Australia has been even more disturbing. "Seeing dying and suffering birds has been quite distressing, so is the idea of the anticipation of what might happen," Ms Williams said. South Australian authorities are Mass mortality of terns on SA island event after more than 80 dead and sick birds were found off an island called Baudin Rocks, about five kilometres south of Cape Jaffa on Friday. Dr Belperio said she recently found a dead silver gull on Glenelg Beach which was one of the several suspected H5 cases announced by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions yesterday. "We really shudder to think what might lie ahead in the way of potential mass mortalities of birds on this very beach," she said. Australia entering 'next phase' of outbreak Birdlife's senior advisor Sean Dooley said recent high mortalities in South Australia linked to H5 bird flu showed the country was entering the "next phase" of the outbreak. "This mass mortality is what we've been dreading," Mr Dooley said. "Until now it's just been individual birds that have been positively identified. "But what we're seeing now is spread between native birds, mainly silver gulls but also the greater crested tern. "Both of those are quite abundant species around our coasts, so we can expect that as they move around, we might see more of these outbreaks." Australia currently has 54 confirmed cases of H5, with a large proportion detected in SA with 40 confirmed cases. There have been 10 cases in WA, two in NSW, one in QLD and one in Victoria. There are no H5 bird flu detections in poultry or livestock. Results are expected in the coming days on the 80 birds detected at Baudin Rocks Island. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said officials were concerned about the increase in cases. "But I think we are very well prepared to manage the impact as best as we possibly can," Mr Butler said. He said the federal government had been in "significant talks" with the poultry industry. "They've been taking place for a very long time, because the Australian poultry industry has watched the impact that H5N1 has had on poultry industries across the world in every other continent."