AGRICULTURE Victoria has praised the quick actions of a Euroa poultry property as it confirmed on Saturday the presence of avian influenza at the site, which has now been placed into quarantine.
Diagnostic testing performed by the CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness at Geelong confirmed the strain found is the highly pathogenic H7N8, which is different from those strains that were eradicated in outbreaks in Victoria, New South Wales, and ACT last year.
The strain detected is also different from the H5N1 avian influenza strain that is impacting the USA and other parts of the world.
Agriculture Victoria staff are on the ground to assist the disease's control, support the business, and investigate further.
A control order under the Livestock Disease and Control Act 1994 is being established, which includes a restricted area extending approximately 5km around the impacted property and a control area in the eastern part of the Strathbogie Shire.
Bird owners are warned to not transport birds in this area.
Victoria’s acting chief veterinarian Cameron Bell praised the poultry business for alerting AgrVict as soon as they suspected the presence of disease in their flock.
‘Avian influenza is commonly spread by wild birds, and unfortunately, despite the business having excellent biosecurity controls in place, poultry have been infected," Dr Bell said.
“The business has acted quickly to identify the infection within the flock and are working closely with Agriculture Victoria officers to contain the outbreak.”
Avian influenza is a viral disease of birds and is found globally.
Virus strains are described as low pathogenicity (LPAI) or high pathogenicity (HPAI).
While cases among humans in direct contact with animals infected with highly pathogenic strains are possible, the current risk to the public remains low.
Every poultry and egg producer should have an on-farm biosecurity plan and know the signs of diseases that could affect their animals.
All poultry and bird owners across Victoria are reminded to follow best biosecurity practices such as keeping poultry sheds, yards, aviaries, and equipment clean and restrict contact between poultry and wild birds.
Bird owners should also ensure their footwear is clean, always wash hands before and after handling birds or eggs and quarantine new birds before integrating with existing ones.
Consumers should not be concerned about eggs and poultry products from the supermarkets, they do not pose a risk and are safe to consume.
Poultry farmers, backyard flock and bird owners are urged to report any cases of unexplained bird deaths to the 24-hour Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 or to their local vet.