Overview
- The outbreak has produced more than 340–350 confirmed or presumed H5N1 events across Australia with rapid spread from subantarctic seabirds to the mainland in late August 2026.
- Authorities have confirmed spillovers into multiple mammal species, including a long-nosed fur seal, a common dolphin and a red fox, with no evidence so far of mammal-to-mammal transmission in Australia.
- The federal government announced a limited supply of bird vaccine vials (1,500) for targeted use in high-value or accessible bird populations while saying widescale vaccination of wild birds is not feasible.
- Macquarie Island’s 24 staff will be evacuated in September or early October as a precaution to reduce psychosocial and operational risks from large numbers of infected or dying seals during breeding season.
- Officials urge the public to avoid sick or dead wildlife, step up genome sequencing and surveillance to detect changes in the virus, and warn that threatened pinniped and seabird species face high conservation risk.