Bird flu spreads to seventh Australian poultry farm

The government of Australia's Victoria state announced on Monday that highly pathogenic avian influenza has extended to a seventh poultry farm near Melbourne.

Of the seven affected properties, six are identified to have the H7N3 flu strain, while the seventh harbors the H7N9 strain. Notably, neither strain is of the H5N1 type, which has globally infected numerous wild and farmed birds, sparking concerns about potential human transmission.

Victoria's agriculture department outlined that restricted and control areas have been established around all infected premises to manage the situation effectively.

The affected properties consist of six egg farms and one duck farm. To mitigate the spread of the virus, approximately 1 million chickens, roughly 5% of Australia's egg-laying flock, have been or will be culled at the impacted farms, as announced by the government last week.

Despite these measures, there has not been a shortage of eggs reported. However, certain retailers have implemented purchase restrictions as a precautionary measure.

Prior to these recent cases, Australia had encountered nine outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza since 1976, all of which were successfully contained and eradicated.

Authorities emphasize that duck and chicken eggs, as well as poultry meat, remain safe for consumption.