Animal Health Australia, Media Release, 24 June 2026
Dear members and stakeholders,
South Australia confirms first H5 bird flu case
South Australia has recorded its first confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a vagrant migratory seabird found on a beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
The confirmed case – a southern giant petrel – was found by a wildlife welfare organisation on 14 June at Knights Beach, Port Elliot.
Testing by CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) has today [24 June 2026] returned a positive detection.
The bird was found alongside another giant petrel, which tested negative.
This is the first time this strain has been detected in South Australia.
The southern giant petrel is a migratory seabird that breeds in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands between October and March. During the southern winter, these birds migrate north and can travel significant distances, including to the waters off South Australia.
This is currently being treated as an isolated incident.
New suspect detection of H5 bird flu in WA
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is responding to a new suspect positive case of H5 bird flu in a migratory seabird on the South West coast of Western Australia.
Samples from a southern giant petrel near Quindalup has tested positive for H5 influenza in preliminary testing at DPIRD’s Diagnostic Laboratory Service.
Samples have been sent to CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness to confirm if it is the serious H5 bird flu strain (H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza) that has been circulating globally.
This follows confirmation of H5 bird flu in two migratory seabirds earlier this week — a brown skua and giant petrel east of Esperance — the first detection in Australia.
Western Australia has advised that all other available test results (eight) have returned negative for avian influenza. These negative results were from birds found in the Perth Metro, Peel, South West and Esperance regions.
No detections in poultry in Australia
There continue to be no detections in poultry anywhere in Australia and no impacts on poultry production or market access have been reported.
National and state response arrangements remain focused on surveillance, epidemiological assessment and determining the extent of infection in migratory wildlife populations.
What you can do
The community are encouraged to report sick or dead birds, or marine mammals. If you see sick or dead animals:
- do not touch them
- avoid contact
- record what you see, including photographs if safe to do so
- report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
People should also keep pets away from wildlife, including preventing cats from roaming and keeping dogs on leads in wildlife areas.
If you own, care for, or work with birds, maintain good biosecurity practices, including preventing contact between wild birds and poultry, keeping equipment clean, washing hands thoroughly before and after handling birds, and monitoring birds for signs of disease or sudden deaths.
Further information is available at birdflu.gov.au.
Animal Health Australia will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide members with further updates as information becomes available.
Kind regards,
Animal Health Australia
