File photo (ABCNews)
Sydney, Australia: Scientists have detected the highly contagious H5 bird flu strain in a second Australian state, the nation's agriculture minister said on Wednesday.
Australia was for years the only continental landmass to be free of the H5 strain, which has caused severe disease and high death rates in poultry and wild birds worldwide.
The first H5 case was confirmed in the state of Western Australia last week, with officials now warning of another case detected in a migratory seabird found hundreds of kilometres away in South Australia.
The brown skua was the first bird to test positive in a preliminary test for avian influenza. (Photo by Simon Gorta/ABCNews)
"This is obviously concerning, but given the spread of H5 globally it is not unexpected that other migratory birds may have arrived at other locations across the Australian coastline," Agriculture Minister Julie Collins told reporters.
"At this stage there is no evidence of mass mortalities. There is also no evidence of infection in poultry or in our agricultural production system," Collins added. "There continues to be a low risk to human health."
The confirmation of H5 spread has the potential to cause significant disruptions.
One of the country's largest poultry producers has locked down farms in Western Australia in a bid to stay disease free.
Neighbouring Papua New Guinea briefly suspended imports of Australian eggs and chicken meat -- although this has since been lifted with some exceptions.
