H5 bird flu is a viral disease of birds that is found globally. High pathogenicity H5N1 avian influenza (H5 bird flu) is currently impacting all parts of the world and has been confirmed for the first time in Australia.
H5 bird flu differs from other avian influenza strains and has caused mass mortalities in poultry and many wild birds overseas, as well as some mammals, particularly marine mammals.
Risk to humans
The Australian Centre for Disease Control advises the risk to people in Australia is currently low. Bird flu in people is rare, and infection usually happens after close contact with infected birds, droppings or heavily contaminated environments. See NSW Health for more information.
Bird flu is not a food safety risk for chicken meat and eggs if they are handled and cooked correctly.
Lead agency for managing H5 bird flu
The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW DPIRD), in partnership with the Australian Government, leads the response to any detection of H5 bird flu in NSW.
For more information on bird flu and the state response visit their webpage.
What to do if you see sick or dead wildlife
Public reporting is a critical part of the response and a key way that the community can support ongoing detection efforts.
If you see sick or dead birds or other animals, do not touch them.
- Avoid contact
- Record what you see – photograph or video and location.
- Report multiple sick or dead birds or other animals to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 from anywhere in Australia.
If there are multiple birds or they are in a location such as a public playground please also report to Council on 1300 434 434.
What you can do to prevent the spread
- Avoid all contact with sick or dead wildlife
- Keep pets away from sick or dead wildlife – keep cats inside and prevent dogs from contact with wildlife
- Do not feed wild birds – congregating birds can increase the likelihood of them catching the virus from one another
Disposing of dead wildlife on private property
The advice from the NSW Government is to leave dead wildlife in place where possible. Where not possible make sure you protect yourself adequately and follow the procedures as advised by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Council preparation
Council is supporting and working to the advice from the lead agency NSW DPIRD.
While we are hopeful we won’t experience significant impacts in our area, the experience across the world shows it may be unavoidable and Council and the community should prepare for the worst.
Council is:
- using our Incident Management Team to coordinate response across waste, cleansing, biodiversity, health and safety, environmental health, customer service and other impacted internal teams
- identifying high risk biodiversity areas and identifying any mitigating measures
- planning for clean-up and disposal including training staff, stocking PPE, liaising with waste contractors and reviewing disposal procedures
- raising awareness of risks and sharing lead agency communications.