H5 bird flu in WA: Two more birds found in WA suspected to have bird flu as monitoring ramps up across Perth

Two more wild seabirds found dead in WA are suspected to be positive for H5 bird flu, including one that had travelled as far north as Northampton in the Mid West.

Two individual dead petrels, at Horrocks Beach in Northhampton and at Mullaloo Beach in Perth, were positive for the virus in preliminary WA testing.

Samples are now being sent to the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness to confirm the results.

The suspected positive bird flu case in Mullaloo marks the second case in the area. DPIRD have heightened its surveillance in the coastal area.

The two new detections come as a worker in full PPE equipment was spotted bagging up a dead bird at Matilda Bay in Crawley on Wednesday morning.

There have been five detections of H5 bird flu in WA so far.

There is no evidence of spread in WA wildlife or poultry.

DPIRD urges anyone who sees sick or dead wildlife to avoid handling the animals and call the EAD Hotline on 1800 675 888.

There have been more than 1200 reports from WA to the EAD hotline since WA’s first confirmed case on June 19.

“While not every report will result in birds needing to be collected or tested, every report plays an important role in helping understand what is happening in the environment,” a DPIRD spokesperson said.