Agriculture Victoria has put movement controls in place, after the latest outbreak of avian influenza at an egg farm between Geelong and Ballarat.
Officials have confirmed the H7N3 high pathogenic strain of avian influenza virus is the cause of a number of poultry deaths at the Meredith egg farm.
Movement controls are now in place to prevent any spread of the virus while the property is quarantined, all poultry are safely disposed of, and the site is cleared of the infection.
Contact tracing is also underway to determine the source and spread of the infection.
Victoria's Chief Veterinarian Graeme Cooke said Agriculture Victoria staff were on-the-ground to support the business and working closely with industry to contain and eradicate the virus.
"Avian influenza is a viral disease of birds found globally," Dr Cooke said.
"The strain of the virus detected near Meredith is H7N3, which is different from H5N1 that's impacting the USA and other parts of the world.
"H5N1 has not been detected in birds in Australia."
La Trobe University research fellow Emma Grant, a viral immunologist with research focusing on understanding immune responses, said there were many different types of influenza virus which could infect a range of mammals including humans, poultry, aquatic birds, horses and pigs.
"However, due to the way avian flu transmits, the risk to the general public is very low," Dr Grant said.
"Influenza viruses bind to specific proteins in the respiratory tract and these proteins differ slightly between humans and other animals susceptible to influenza virus infection.
"Therefore, transmission of avian influenza viruses to humans is uncommon, as are instances of human-to-human transmission".
But she said avian influenza viruses could spread quickly through animals, and farmers would need to remain vigilant.
The controls include a Restricted Area, covering a five-kilometre radius around the infected premises and a broader Control Area buffer zone covering an area of 20 kilometres.
This restricts the movement of poultry, poultry products, equipment and vehicles on or off properties in these areas.
Victorian Farmers Federation Eggs council president Meg Parkinson said it looked like the same strain as the 2020 outbreak.
"These things happen, its an endemic form, so every once in a while the degree of virus in the wild bird population spills over and that's what's happened in this case," Ms Parkinson, Leongatha North, said.
She said it was hard to know if the outbreak would spread but authorities had acted quickly to close down the farm.
"We are hoping it won't spread," she said.
There are estimated to be 500 egg producers in Victoria, including about 30 large commercial growers.
Ms Parkinson said egg farmers knew the importance of strict biosecurity practices.
"The problem with these things is you never know when there is going to be a spillover, it's just unfortunate really," she said.
Authorities monitored the wild bird population, "they have a project where they check wild birds all the time, but they can only check so many," she said.
"They check birds on their flight paths, but clearly this has nothing to do with a flight path, it is just bad luck."
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
