H7 bird flu was detected at a third poultry farm near Melbourne, but the Victoria state government claimed it was not the strain raising fears of human transmission.
The government also reported the destruction of hundreds of thousands of birds after detecting the flu at two Australian egg farms last month, according to Reuters.
The third farm is a few kilometres away from the first one that reported the infection. Both farms reportedly have the same strain of the H7N3 virus. The other farm, meanwhile, had the H7N9 strain, according to the state government.
Local authorities placed all three farms under quarantine with restrictions on travelling in surrounding areas, Graeme Cooke, Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, reported.
The detection of avian influenza at this additional property is not unexpected and is the result of ongoing surveillance activities within the Restricted and Control Areas.
However, the H7 bird flu outbreak poses no risk to consumers of eggs and poultry products, the government has assured. Since 1976, Australia has recorded nine outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), all contained and stamped out.
In recent years, another strain of bird flu, H5N1, has swept around the world. It has also spread to dozens of mammalian species and through cattle herds in the United States. It has also infected three people in the US and one in Australia.
Australia recorded the first case of a child contracting the bird flu on May 22. Authorities speculate that he may have got the virus in India.
