Australia detects H5 bird Flu as virus reaches every continent

Australia reported its first mainland case of H5 bird flu, marking the spread of the deadly virus to every continent on the planet.

The strain was found in a dead migratory seabird in remote Western Australia, Julie Collins, the country's agriculture minister, said at a press conference in Canberra on Saturday. There's no evidence of any infections among poultry, she said.

H5 bird flu is spreading globally in birds and spilling into mammals including cattle, elephant seals and sea lions. Human cases remain uncommon and are largely tied to close contact with infected poultry and other farm animals.

"We all knew that we couldn't be bird-flu free forever," Collins said. The dead bird, a brown skua, was found in an isolated area near the town of Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia.

The virus has been reported in more than 700 dairy herds in California alone and has spread to at least 16 states since it was first identified in cattle in the U.S. in 2024.

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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 10:55 PM.