Australia is not ready for the arrival of an avian influenza strain that has killed millions of birds and thousands of mammals overseas, experts say. 

High pathogenicity avian influenza of subtype H5 (HPAI H5) has spread to every continent except Australia and Antarctica, and so far, it has affected 300 species of wild birds and caused hundreds of mass mortality events. 

Conservationists are urging the Australian government to develop a national response plan for avian influenza in wildlife as there is no plan for wildlife, despite Australia being well prepared to respond to avian influenza infections in poultry. 

The Invasive Species Council (ISC) has written to the agriculture minister, Murray Watt, and the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, requesting the establishment of a national taskforce with membership from environmental and biosecurity agencies from all governments and a range of wildlife, disease and conservation experts. 

While eradication is not feasible for outbreaks in wild birds, steps the government can take to minimise the impacts on wildlife and help recovery include monitoring, reporting, and research to assess impacts, regulating human access to bird colonies, removing and disposing of dead birds, vaccinating captive-bred colonies of threatened species, and developing local responses for specific bird colonies. 

Experts have warned that the risk of the virus arriving in Australia is increasing and that migratory shorebirds, which are hosts for the virus, are the most likely carriers. 

Mr Watt has responded to the warning by stating that his department had been closely monitoring the global HPAI situation and had invested in measures to enhance Australia’s preparedness and early warning capabilities.

On 29 March 2023, the Ministry of Health of Chile notified the WHO of a laboratory-confirmed case of human infection caused by avian influenza A(H5) virus.