Overview
- Australian Antarctic Program researchers reported unusually high mortality in southern elephant seals and clinical signs consistent with H5 during a management voyage to Heard Island.
- Samples have been safely collected and will be tested at the CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness after the vessel returns in mid-November, with results expected several weeks later.
- Scientists reported no unusual mortality in penguins or other seabirds, and a confirmation would mark the first recorded H5 event in an Australian sub-Antarctic territory.
- Authorities say the suspected finding is unsurprising given confirmed H5 detections on France’s Kerguelen and Crozet Islands less than roughly 450–500 km away.
- Officials maintain the current risk to mainland Australia remains limited and point to more than $100 million invested in surveillance and preparedness.