In South Australia, a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus was detected in a dead dolphin—this is the first confirmed case of a dolphin infection in the country. LRT reports this, citing Australian officials, writes UNN.
Details
The dead marine mammal was found in Goolwa, approximately 60 km south of Adelaide. Tests confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus.
The South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions stated that no similar cases among dolphins had previously been recorded in the country, although infections of these marine mammals with H5 strains have been reported in other countries.
Dolphins do not usually eat birds, but incidental interactions between them are not uncommon
How the dolphin could have contracted H5N1
South Australia's Chief Veterinary Officer, Skye Frouan, suggested that the dolphin might have eaten an infected bird or had close contact with a wild bird.
That same day, Australian officials reported detecting highly pathogenic avian influenza in a fox near Adelaide. This became the first confirmed case of infection in a terrestrial mammal in Australia.
Until then, Australia had remained for many years the only continent where the H5 strain—which causes severe disease among wild and domestic birds—had not been recorded. At the same time, no cases of H5N1 among poultry or at poultry farms in the country have so far been detected.
Australia's Chief Veterinary Officer, Beth Cookson, stressed that despite the new cases of animal infection, the risk to human health remains low.