致命的H5N1禽流感病毒首次在澳大利亚维多利亚州被检测到[1]。在波特兰附近发现的一只冠鸬鹚身上呈现阳性反应[1]。维多利亚州已启动《州紧急动物疾病应对计划》，并进行遗传学检测以正式确认检测结果[1]。
这一病毒株自6月在西澳珀斯南方约700公里的勒格朗国家公园首次发现以来，通过候鸟沿南部海岸迅速传播[1]。维多利亚州已成为确认感染该病毒的第五个州，此前西澳、南澳、新南威尔士州和昆士兰州已确认多例感染[1]。据州农业部门官员Dr Graeme Cooke称，"该H5变种不同于以前的病毒株，已知会导致大量野生鸟类和某些哺乳动物死亡"[1]。此外，南澳首次发现了冠鸬鹚之间的本地传播现象[1]。
Australia's Victoria state has confirmed its first case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus, detected in a cormorant found near Portland [1]. The discovery marks a significant expansion of the outbreak that has already spread across multiple Australian states since its initial detection in June [1].
The infected bird tested positive for the virus, prompting Victorian authorities to activate the State Emergency Animal Disease Response Plan and initiate genetic testing to formally verify the result [1]. Dr Graeme Cooke noted that "this H5 variant differs from previously circulating strains and is known to cause significant mortality in wild birds and certain mammal species" [1]. The outbreak has now been confirmed in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria [1].
The virus was first identified in Australia in June near Perth in Western Australia, where it was detected in a brown skua approximately 700 kilometers south of the city [1]. Since then, the pathogen has spread rapidly along the southern coast through migratory bird populations [1], with local transmission among cormorants recently documented in South Australia for the first time [1].