On a quiet stretch of coast at Encounter Bay, on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula, a dead common dolphin has become one more small sign that the bird flu now moving through the world's wildlife has reached the sea. The state's chief veterinary officer reads the case as a matter of ill fortune, a single animal that met a single infected bird, and so not a warning of a sea-wide sickness. What weighs more on the officials is what might come next: the seals and sea lions that rest on the same shores and live closer to the land. The count now stands at 340 positive events in the state, and the
Dead Dolphin at Encounter Bay Tests Positive for H5 Bird Flu as SA Tallies 340 Detections
A chance encounter with an infected wild bird
Mark
A dolphin has tested positive for H5 bird flu at Encounter Bay. Why does one animal matter?
Mimi
It's another marine mammal in the count, and it shows the virus is reaching beyond birds. But the chief vet, Dr Skye Fruean, called it a chance encounter with an infected wild bird.
Mark
So dolphins aren't in trouble?
Mimi
She says the risk of an extensive outbreak among dolphins is low. The worry is land-based sea mammals, like seals and sea lions.
Luke
Worth noting that's her assessment. The reporting doesn't say what the evidence is for dolphins being lower risk, or whether seals have tested positive.
Mark
And the figure of 340 events? Is that 340 dead animals?
Mimi
No. An event is a confirmed positive test in at least one animal of a species at one location. It could be one animal or many.
Luke
So 340 tells us about spread across sites, not how many animals died. The article doesn't give a death toll.
Mark
Is the situation getting better?
Mimi
Dr Fruean says positives are slowing but still consistent, and no recent events have shown mass mortality. Crested terns, though, have been hit significantly.
Luke
And the penguin vaccination has no start date yet. Preparations are under way at Granite Island, Penneshaw and Emu Bay, but that's all we know.
O Pulso
- A dead common dolphin washed up at Encounter Bay has tested positive for H5 bird flu, adding a new marine mammal to South Australia's growing tally.
- Officials are trying to read the case calmly, pointing to a likely chance contact with an infected wild bird rather than a spreading dolphin epidemic.
- Anxiety is gathering around seals and sea lions, whose shore-bound lives leave them more exposed should the virus take hold.
- Protection work is moving along several fronts, with a zoo and wildlife park vaccination programs in progress and a little penguin vaccination plan being readied at Granite Island, Penneshaw and Emu Bay.
- The penguin vaccinations still lack a start date, so the coming weeks hinge on whether detections keep slowing and whether any seal case appears.
On a quiet stretch of coast at Encounter Bay, on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula, a dead common dolphin has become one more small sign that the bird flu now moving through the world's wildlife has reached the sea. The state's chief veterinary officer reads the case as a matter of ill fortune, a single animal that met a single infected bird, and so not a warning of a sea-wide sickness. What weighs more on the officials is what might come next: the seals and sea lions that rest on the same shores and live closer to the land. The count now stands at 340 positive events in the state, and the quieter hope is that the flu is arriving less often than it once did.
A common dolphin washed up dead at Encounter Bay on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula this week, and testing has shown it carried H5 bird flu. It is another marine mammal to return a positive result in a state that has now logged 340 such events.
The chief veterinary officer, Dr Skye Fruean, described the dolphin's infection as a matter of bad luck: it likely met an infected wild bird. For that reason she considers the risk of an extensive dolphin outbreak low. Her greater worry lies with land-based sea mammals such as seals and sea lions.
Her tone on the wider trend was cautiously hopeful. Positive cases are arriving less often, and none of the recent events has shown mass deaths. The earlier toll was heavier, and crested terns were hit especially hard.
Protection is advancing. A vaccination program for selected birds at Cleland Wildlife Park is complete, and the one at Zoos SA is halfway done. Vaccines for a little penguin program have been confirmed federally, and preparations are under way for colonies at Granite Island, Penneshaw and Emu Bay. There is still no start date, so the coming weeks will show whether the detections keep easing and when the penguins are finally protected.
A common dolphin washed up dead at Encounter Bay, on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula, this week. Testing has now shown it was carrying H5 bird flu, making it another marine mammal to return a positive result.
The state's chief veterinary officer, Dr Skye Fruean, described the case as a matter of chance. In her account, the dolphin was unlucky enough to come into contact with an infected wild bird. She said that makes the risk of an extensive outbreak among dolphins low.
The concern lies elsewhere. Dr Fruean said authorities are more worried about land-based sea mammals, naming seals and sea lions.
The dolphin adds to a running count. South Australia has now registered 340 positive H5 bird flu events. The term has a specific meaning: an event is not an individual case report. It is a confirmed positive test affecting at least one animal of a species at a single location, so a site where many birds died can still count as one event.
On the overall trend, Dr Fruean offered cautious good news. She said officials have been pleased to see positive cases arriving less often than before, though they are still turning up consistently. None of the recent events, she said, has shown signs of mass mortality, and none has involved really significant numbers of individual deaths.
The earlier impacts were harder. Dr Fruean said some populations have been significantly affected, and she singled out crested terns in particular.
Protection efforts are moving on several fronts. A vaccination program for selected birds at Cleland Wildlife Park has finished, and the program for birds at Zoos SA facilities is halfway completed. The federal government has also confirmed that vaccines will be released for a little penguin program in South Australia.
Operational preparations are under way to start that program in penguin colonies on Granite Island, at Penneshaw and at Emu Bay. Dr Fruean said she does not yet have a start date for little penguin vaccination, but the operational work is continuing. For now, the things to watch are whether detections keep slowing, whether any seal or sea lion cases emerge, and when the penguin vaccinations begin.
Citações Notáveis
Positive cases are slowing but still arriving consistently, and no recent events have shown really significant numbers of deaths.— Dr Skye Fruean, South Australia's chief veterinary officer (paraphrased)
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Leia o original em ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation ↗
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