H5N1 Bird Flu Found in Dead Dolphin in South Australia

H5N1 bird flu has been detected in a dead common dolphin found at Goolwa in South Australia, state officials said on August 28. The discovery is reportedly the first known detection of the virus in a dolphin in Australia. Goolwa is located just over 60 kilometers south of Adelaide. According to South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions, the dolphin may have become infected after eating a bird or having close contact with a wild bird, although officials did not establish exactly how transmission occurred. The department said dolphins and porpoises have been infected with H5 bird flu overseas. It added that dolphins do not commonly eat birds, but can sometimes interact with them. South Australia’s chief veterinary officer, Skye Fruean, said dolphins are highly susceptible to the virus. The finding came alongside the detection of H5N1 in a red fox near Adelaide. Chief veterinary officer Beth Cookson said that was the first reported case of the virus in a land mammal in Australia. H5N1 has caused severe illness and death among poultry and wild birds in many parts of the world. Australia had previously been the only continental landmass free of the H5 strain, according to the report. Officials said the virus has not been detected in Australian poultry or agricultural production. Despite the unusual cases in two mammals, Cookson said the risk to human health remains low. The reported findings show that the virus has reached wildlife beyond its more commonly affected bird hosts, but the supplied report does not identify any human infections connected to the dolphin or fox.