Australia on Friday confirmed the first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in a native seabird, marking a new phase in the disease's spread after it landed on the country's shores last month.
Laboratory testing by Australia's national science agency confirmed the case in a greater crested tern found in the South Australian coastal town of Robe, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said.
It is the first confirmed infection in an Australian seabird, with all other cases being found in migratory seabirds.
It brings the total number of confirmed detections in the country to 12, after authorities on Friday also confirmed two additional infections in South Australia and one in Western Australia.
Collins said the development was "concerning" but not unexpected, adding that there was still no evidence of mass mortalities or spread to the poultry or broader agriculture sector.
"Our scientists are undertaking further work to establish the potential pathway that resulted in the Australian sea bird's infection," she said.
"What we do know is that this is a coastal seabird that has been overlapping coastal range with migratory seabirds that have previously tested positive for H5."
Australia became the last continent to confirm a mainland H5N1 case in June. The virus had previously been detected in late 2025 on Heard Island, a sub-Antarctic territory located about 4,100 km from mainland Australia.
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Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
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