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  • 2 weeks ago
The imminent threat of bird flu has now reached Queensland. A dead seabird found on Moreton Island has tested positive for the virus at a local lab and is undergoing further testing interstate. It's Queensland’s first suspected case. The community is being warned not to touch sick birds as conservationists and poultry farmers brace for the potential impacts.

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00:02Exposed to the open ocean, Moreton Island's eastern shore was the scene of a worrying discovery.
00:08We've had a suspect positive case of H5 bird flu here in Queensland.
00:14A petrol found washed up last Saturday has tested positive for the virus in a local lab.
00:20In line with protocol, it's been sent to Victoria for further testing.
00:24For confirmation.
00:25Globally, H5 bird flu has had a devastating impact on some wild bird and mammal populations.
00:33In other parts of the world, bird flu has decimated up to 50% of entire populations of things like
00:40pelicans and seabirds.
00:42It can run rampant in poultry farms, though there have been no cases of the H5 strain in chicken meat
00:49or egg farms here.
00:50They are well prepared, they know what they need to do for their biosecurity and they're doing it.
00:55We've invested early and made sure we're as prepared as we possibly can be.
00:59But obviously this is a very virulent strain and it's highly contagious.
01:03Seventeen cases of the H5 strain of avian influenza have been detected in wild birds nationally since last month.
01:11Ten in Western Australia, five in South Australia and two in New South Wales.
01:16The Australian Centre for Disease Control says the risk to human health is low.
01:22Bird flu rarely spreads to humans and transmission between people is also very rare.
01:29Conservationists want governments to spend more money to protect wildlife.
01:33Other actions to give them more resilience to protect them because if they're going to decline by 30 or 40
01:39% we need to do everything else we can.
01:41Anyone who finds a sick or dead bird is cautioned not to touch it and to report it to the
01:47Emergency Animal Disease Hotline.
01:49Because of the
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