ANDREW STAFFORD/ AAP
AN escalating bird flu outbreak is poised to cause “maximum damage” following confirmation of Australia’s first mass mortality event.
The mass mortality event was confirmed on Monday after a large group of dead and sick greater crested terns at Baudin Rocks, in South Australia, tested positive for the virus.
Six new cases were also confirmed in Victoria while a cluster of sick and dead crested terns found in the state’s southwest underwent further testing.
It bumped the national tally up to 78 – including 58 in SA alone – with a further 49 suspected cases.
SA Environment Minister Emily Bourke confirmed another case from a petrel found on the Coorong at the mouth of the Murray River, increasing the likelihood of the virus spreading inland.
“That location is of concern, because it is where waterbirds are also located,” she said.
“So it’s going from seabirds potentially now into where we know a lot of waterbirds are nesting and using this place as a safe haven.”
An expert said the concentration of sick and dying birds close to the Murray River’s mouth in SA, along with the beginning of the migration season and an encroaching El Nino, looked set to trigger a major outbreak.
“It’s the perfect mix for the virus to spread and do maximum damage,” BirdLife Australia’s Sean Dooley said.
“Terns are known to come into roost on the Coorong and also on the lakes around Robe (SA), but silver gulls are the ones that are going to move it around.”
Silver gulls, which readily feed on carrion and are abundant in urban areas, posed the greatest threat, he said.
He said waterbirds, which tended to congregate and breed in large flocks, were at most immediate risk.
The threat is expected to increase as a predicted super El Niño year tightens its grip on the landscape, bringing hot and dry conditions.