Overview
- The confirmed case, reported Saturday, was a Subantarctic (brown) skua found dead on a remote Western Australia beach roughly 630–700 kilometres southeast of Perth.
- Federal and state officials convened a crisis meeting and said they will step up testing and targeted containment measures to limit further spread.
- Authorities are investigating a suspected second sick seabird in the same region while tests are under way to confirm infection.
- Ministers and the chief veterinary officer said there are no signs of infection in poultry or livestock so far and advised the public to avoid contact with sick or dead birds.
- The finding completes the current H5 wave’s reach to all continents, raises conservation concerns for Australia’s unique wildlife, and keeps health agencies watching for rare spillover to mammals or people.