WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis says the state government has received a suspected positive for bird flu from a petrel found in Quindalup in the South West.
The sample has been sent to the CSIRO Center for Disease Control for confirmation, with Jarvis explaining there are currently only two confirmed cases of bird flu in WA, both of which were from birds found near Esperance last week.
A dead pig was also found near Esperance last weekend, but it was not reported to the animal disease hotline and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development was unable to take test results.
Jarvis said one suspected positive result from the Quindalup area is a migratory bird from the Antarctic region.
“Importantly, there have been no reports of large-scale deaths, and there is no evidence that the virus has spread to native birds or wildlife,” he said.
“Since the weekend, we have also received eight negative test results from birds that were reported via the animal disease hotline.
“These negative test results were from birds found in the metro area, Peel, South West, and Esperance regions.
“We now have one new suspected positive case from the Quindalup South West area.”
Jarvis said a member of the public reported seeing the bird over the weekend as a result of the government’s public education campaign.
“A DPIRD biosecurity officer took a sample from the plane on Sunday, which was flown to Perth for testing,” he said.
Jarvis said the total number of reports since the first case of bird flu was confirmed on Friday was now up to 192.
“What I can tell you is that there have been 24 samples taken as of yesterday, including the ones I mentioned. Therefore, out of the 24 results, we have obtained eight results,” he said.
“Obviously we confirmed the two from Esperance last week, and now they are suspected of having the virus. So, that’s 11 of the 24 birds tested.”
WA Premier Roger Cook said the early detection of bird flu on the south coast near Esperance had put the state “ahead of the game” in terms of a coordinated state response to a potential outbreak.
“What we have is early detection, which has put us ahead of the game in terms of responding, making sure that we reduce the risk in terms of our agricultural sector, and making sure that we can get those protocols and procedures in place as quickly as possible,” he said.
“I think we all have a stake in this issue. It represents a serious threat to our wildlife.
“It represents a risk to our agricultural industry, and that’s why the Commonwealth and state governments have been working carefully together over the last year or so to find protocols and procedures to deal with emergencies.”
