Tasmania is responding to H5 bird flu. Read the latest update.
What is bird flu?
Bird flu is a highly contagious viral disease of birds.
It can affect poultry farms, backyard poultry, and wild birds. It can cause disease in other animals, including mammals such as seals, and scavenging species.
Some bird species carry bird flu without symptoms or illness but birds and other animals sick with bird flu will likely die.
Due to wild bird movements, it is not possible to stop bird flu from spreading among wildlife and may result in large numbers of bird and mammal deaths.
Symptoms
Signs of avian influenza in live birds include:
breathing problems like coughing or sneezing
circling
tremors and incoordination
twisted neck
inability to stand or fly
swelling in the head, neck and eyes
change of colour or cloudiness in the eyes
Signs in live mammals include tremors and incoordination, seizures, breathing problems, and runny nose and drooling.
What you should do
Do not touch sick or dead birds or other animals. Avian influenza or bird flu may affect humans however the current risk to the public remains low.
Any suspicion of an emergency animal disease (EAD) should be immediately reported to the 24-hour Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
More information on how to spot and report bird flu and help prevent disease spread is at www.nre.tas.gov.au/BirdFlu
What bird owners should do
Commercial producers should have an on-farm biosecurity plan and know the signs of diseases that could affect their birds and other animals.
All poultry and bird owners are reminded to follow best biosecurity practices such as:
- 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.
More information is on the Chickens or Other Birds webpage.
What consumers should do
Consumers can be assured that eggs and chicken meat are safe to eat provided they are handled and cooked according to standard food handling practices.
What to expect in an outbreak
When bird flu is present:
it could cause large numbers of bird and wild mammal deaths
it could affect poultry (chicken and egg farms) and other industries
activities like wildlife rescue, hunting, and muttonbird harvesting may need to pause
there could be large numbers of dead animals visible in the community
it may not be possible to remove all dead animals from an area
some areas may be closed for varying amounts of time to prevent disease spread and eliminate risk to human health
scavenging species such as the Tasmanian devil, wedge-tailed eagles, or quolls may become sick and die after eating infected birds
H5 bird flu in wild animals cannot be treated so it’s important Tasmanians understand infected birds will likely die.
Human health
Human infections with avian influenza are rare and require direct and close contact with infected animals.
People should avoid touching sick or dead birds or animals.
If you must handle sick or dead birds, you can help protect yourself by wearing PPE which should include:
Wash your hands thoroughly after handling any birds and equipment.
A bird flu incursion could see mass mortality events both of birds and, potentially, mammal species and is likely to cause significant community concern, particularly for those that work and volunteer with animals. Support is available through:
Access Mental Health 1800 332 388 - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Head to Health Phone Service 1800 595 212 - 8.30am to 5pm weekdays (except public holidays).
A Tasmanian Lifeline 1800 984 434 - 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week
Lifeline 13 11 44
Visit the
Tasmanian Department of Health website for more human health information.
For more information or to report a suspected case
If you see sick or dead birds or animals:
Avoid contact (do not touch, and keep pets away)
Record what you see (photo, video, location, detail)
Report it as soon as possible to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline 1800 675 888 (24/7), or through our online reporting forms.