This is the first such case in the country.
The State Department of Primary Industry and Regions reported that a marine mammal was found dead in Goolwa, just over 60 km south of Adelaide.
“Although the detection of bird flu in a common dolphin is new in Australia, there is already evidence abroad that dolphins and porpoises can be infected with the H5 strain of bird flu,” the department stated.
“Dolphins usually do not eat birds, but occasional interaction with them is not an unusual phenomenon,” said environmentalists.
Australia has long been the only continent where the H5 strain, which causes severe diseases and death in domestic and wild birds worldwide, has not been detected.
So far, no cases of bird flu have been detected among domestic birds or in agricultural production in the country.
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South Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer Skye Fruean told the media that it is believed the dolphin “ate a bird or had close contact with a wild bird.”
“We know that dolphins are highly susceptible,” said S. Fruean.
Officials also confirmed on Friday that a highly contagious flu virus was detected in a brown fox near Adelaide.
This is the first such case detected in a land mammal in Australia, reported the country’s Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson.
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“The risk to human health remains low,” emphasized B. Cookson.
