Kangaroo Island Crested Terns Test Positive for H5 Bird Flu After 80 Birds Fell Sick or Died
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 11
Kangaroo Island Crested Terns Test Positive for H5 Bird Flu After 80 Birds Fell Sick or Died
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 11
Summary
Multiple crested terns on Kangaroo Island have now tested positive for the deadly H5 bird flu strain, extending South Australia’s outbreak beyond the first confirmed case at Robe.
More than 80 dead or sick greater crested terns were spotted last week at Baudin Rocks near Robe, marking the outbreak’s first mass mortality event and prompting intensified surveillance.
More than 120 volunteers have joined South Australia’s Bird Observers Network, which trains birders to identify and report sick birds; one volunteer’s report was followed by the confirmed Kangaroo Island positives.
Authorities are urging people not to touch sick or dead wildlife, but to photograph and report it, as officials and conservation groups warn losses could rival or exceed the state’s recent 20,000-sq-km algal-bloom wildlife disaster.