Australia confirms first H5N1 bird flu case

Australia on Saturday confirmed its first case of H5N1 bird flu on the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, with the deadly virus found in the remote territory’s vulnerable elephant seal population. * Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson said official testing confirmed the highly pathogenic virus strain “in samples collected from an elephant seal and a kelp gull on Macquarie Island, marking the first H5 event on this island”. * Australia in June became the last continent to report bird flu, although the virus was detected in late 2025 on another of its sub-Antarctic territories, Heard Island, where more than 13,000 baby seals were killed by the virus, according to local media. * Like Heard Island, Macquarie Island, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed territory located in the Southern Ocean halfway between Australia’s Tasmania state and Antarctica, is a key breeding ground for southern elephant seals. * The mammals, which can weigh up to 3,600 kg (7,936 pounds), are partic