Seven suspected new bird flu cases are ‘evidence of spread’ into Australian wildlife, experts warn

Greater crested terns nest in large colonies, making them particularly vulnerable to bird flu. Seven new suspected cases have been detected in South Australia. Photograph: David & Micha Sheldon/Getty Images/imageBROKER View image in fullscreen Greater crested terns nest in large colonies, making them particularly vulnerable to bird flu. Seven new suspected cases have been detected in South Australia. Photograph: David & Micha Sheldon/Getty Images/imageBROKER Seven suspected new bird flu cases are ‘evidence of spread’ into Australian wildlife, experts warn BirdLife Australia says discoveries of sick and dead local seabirds in South Australia show outbreak is ‘taking hold’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast South Australia has reported seven new suspected cases of deadly H5 bird flu , with experts warning it could be a sign the disease has begun spreading through local bird populations. All seven birds are greater crested terns – a common local seabird – and were found on the Limestone Coast in south-eastern SA, with one found at Cape Jaffa, five around Southend Jetty near Beachport and one at Port MacDonald, just over 20km from the Victorian border. BirdLife Australia’s chief executive, Kate Millar, said the discovery showed the outbreak was “now taking hold and is evidence of spread”. “If we were in a bushfire scenario, those subantarctic birds that arrived with the disease initially were like the embers,” she said. “Now having it in crested terns, that’s the smoke. “Governments have been saying it hasn’t spread – this is evidence of spread.” The development follows two other confirmed cases of the disease in greater crested terns in South Australia at the weekend, including the first positive detection in metropolitan Adelaide. If the CSIRO verifies the seven suspected cases, it will take the total number of cases in SA to 14 – 10 of those in local greater crested terns. Of the five birds collected from Southend Jetty, four were sick and one was dead. The birds found at Cape Jaffa and Port MacDonnell were also dead. South Australia’s primary industries minister, Clare Scriven, told reporters on Monday the development was concerning. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The government said analysis of samples sent to CSIRO would help determine whether the disease was spreading locally. The state’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Skye Fruean, said it was too early to say whether the five birds found around Southend Jetty were part of a cluster of infections. Scriven said: “It is worth noting that these are in wild seabirds, and all the detections so far have been in wild seabirds. We don’t have any detections in poultry or the broader agricultural industry, which is encouraging.” Fruean said the government was “stepping up monitoring” despite “already doing a huge amount of surveillance”. This would include targeted surveillance of areas frequented by greater cr