Bird flu: SA confirms first H5 case, WA expects third infection as Papua New Guinea halts poultry imports

The bird flu threat has now moved beyond WA after a case of H5N1 was confirmed in South Australia, as the poultry industry suffers a massive trade blow.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said the state’s first case of H5 bird flu came from a southern giant petrel found on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

“The bird was found alongside another southern giant petrel, which tested negative,” Malinauskas said.

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It comes after Australia’s largest chicken buyer Papua New Guinea suspended poultry and egg imports and WA authorities revealed they were expecting test results to show a third wild bird found in a holiday hotspot had been infected with the virus.

The first two cases of the virus were in birds found on a remote beach on WA‘s south coast.

Now testing on a dead southern giant petrel found in Quindalup, in the state’s South West, is expected to return a third positive result.

Despite authorities saying there is no evidence of a broader spread, and no recorded infections within the poultry industry, PNG’s National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority moved this week to ban chicken meat and product imports from Australia.

The decision was revealed in a market access advice published by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).

“The department is actively engaging with PNG to resolve this issue,” DAFF said.

Most Australian chicken meat is for domestic consumption but exports reached $133m in 2023-24, with nearly half of that going to PNG.

The situation has poultry producers on alert, with Inghams locking down its WA sites to mitigate risks.

The biosecurity measures will not impact supply, which will continue “as usual”, the company said.

– More to come . . .