Bird flu jumps to dolphin and fox in Australia, officials say low risk to humans

SYDNEY, Aug 28 — H5N1 bird flu has been detected in a dead dolphin in South Australia, officials in the state said Friday, the first case of its kind in the country.

The cetacean was found dead in Goolwa, just over 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Adelaide, the state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions said.

“While the detection in the common dolphin is a new development in Australia, there is evidence of dolphins and porpoises catching H5 bird flu overseas,” the department said.

“Dolphins would not commonly eat birds but it is not unusual for them to sometimes interact.”

Australia was for years the only continental landmass free of the H5 strain, which has caused severe disease and death in poultry and wild birds worldwide.

There have been no cases detected in poultry or in the country’s agriculture production.

South Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer Skye Fruean told media that the dolphin is believed to have “eaten a bird or interacted closely with a wild bird”.

“We know that dolphins are highly susceptible,” she said.

Officials also confirmed Friday that the highly contagious influenza had been detected in a red fox near Adelaide.

It is the first case detected in a land mammal in Australia, the country’s Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson said.

“The risk to human health remains low,” she stressed. – AFP