By Peter Hobson and Lucy Craymer
CANBERRA/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Australia and New Zealand are bracing for the arrival of a harmful fowl flu pressure by tightening biosecurity at farms, testing shore birds for illness, vaccinating susceptible species and war-gaming response plans.
Oceania is the final area of the world freed from the H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b avian influenza that has killed a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of birds and tens of hundreds of mammals since showing in Asia, Europe and Africa in 2020, littering seashores with corpses and upending the agricultural business.
Whereas the area is considerably protected by its geography – it’s off the migration routes of huge birds akin to geese that unfold an infection – the virus is shut, having reached Indonesia in 2022 and Antarctica final yr.
Scientists and officers say there’s a increased danger, notably in Australia, of it arriving with smaller migratory shore birds throughout the Southern Hemisphere springtime months from September to November.
“It’s clearly a risk to our nation’s ecosystems,” mentioned Fiona Fraser, Threatened Species Commissioner at Australia’s setting ministry.
“A lot of our species are discovered nowhere else on this planet,” she mentioned. “Weak species might face long-term inhabitants setbacks and heightened danger of extinction.”
Officers worry mass deaths from the avian flu and even the near-extinctions of species together with endangered sea lions, black swans and plenty of varieties of seabird, and the lack of thousands and thousands of farmed poultry.
Over 100 million chickens and turkeys have died or been culled in america alone from this H5N1 pressure, inflicting financial losses of as much as $3 billion by the top of final yr, based on the Council of Overseas Relations, a U.S. assume tank.
The virus killed round 50,000 seals and sea lions and greater than half 1,000,000 wild birds because it moved by means of South America starting in 2022.
It has additionally contaminated cattle in america and, in uncommon instances, individuals. Well being officers say the danger to people is low.
New Zealand can also be unlikely to keep away from the virus long-term, mentioned Mary van Andel, chief veterinary officer for the nation’s Ministry of Major Industries.
“Geographic isolation has protected us from HPAI (excessive pathogenicity avian influenza) previously, however we won’t depend on it ceaselessly,” she mentioned.
‘WARTIME’
Each nations have intensified preparation.
Australia created a activity drive throughout authorities departments and stress-tested its preparedness in August and September with a collection of workout routines simulating an H5N1 outbreak in wildlife.
New Zealand has trialled a vaccine on 5 endangered native birds and mentioned it could possibly be rolled out to extra species.
“We’re tremendous paranoid about these 5 species, as a result of the danger to them of dropping the breeding inhabitants is that we might lose the species,” mentioned Kate McInnes, science advisor at New Zealand’s Division of Conservation.
Australia can also be creating choices for vaccinating threatened wild birds held in captivity, officers mentioned. The 2 vaccination schemes are among the many solely ones for non-farmed animals on this planet.
Farms are boosting biosecurity measures together with limiting contact between poultry and wild birds, monitoring workers’ motion, sterilising water and gear and putting in automated techniques that detect wild birds and scare them away, business officers from each nations mentioned.
Whereas Australia has had quite a few outbreaks of extremely pathogenic fowl flu strains in poultry flocks, together with earlier this yr, they had been less-virulent strains that didn’t unfold by means of wild birds.
New Zealand has by no means confronted excessive pathogenicity fowl flu. Its poultry business affiliation has organised journeys to each Australia and Britain to study from farms there.
“We have been at peacetime,” mentioned Poultry Business Affiliation New Zealand Government Director Michael Brooks. “Frankly, now we’re probably heading to wartime.”
Oceania has had longer than different areas to organize for the arrival of H5N1, however whereas the poultry business can lock down, wild populations can’t be contained.
“We have discovered quite a bit from the way in which the illness has unfold internationally. We have stepped up our preparedness as finest we will,” mentioned Brant Smith, an official at Australia’s agriculture ministry overseeing the nation’s response.
“However each single continent has seen enormous mortality occasions in wildlife. We’re prone to see this happen right here too.”
