Australia’s H5N1 bird flu outbreak is widening, with federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirming a first case in South Australia.

Wednesday’s update came as Western Australia confirmed it was also testing a third bird suspected of having the virus.

The confirmation in South Australia follows that state beginning to test dead migratory seabirds amid fears of the arrival of the deadly avian flu.

It’s the first detection of the virus in South Australia, after two confirmed cases in birds found about 700 kilometres south-east of Perth.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the case was a southern giant petrel found 10 days ago at Knights Beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula, more than 2000 kilometres from where the WA birds were found.

He said the bird had travelled to the state via Antartica.

“It’s very, very important now that we have received a positive result from South Australia… people are very aware that they can report any signs of bird life that is unwell or dead. they can do that through our hotline,” he said.

Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas. Photo: Mike Bowers

WA’s third case is in another migratory bird that was found 700 kilometres north-west of the original site, near the tourist town of Dunsborough.

“This is obviously concerning,” Collins said of the new cases.

“But given the spread of (the virus) globally, it is not unexpected that other migratory birds may have arrived at other locations across the Australian coastline.”

Chief veterinary officer Dr Beth Cookson said an investigation would help determine whether the sources of the three cases were linked.

“We are still very early in the investigation phase… what we do know though is the early advice from Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness is that the two birds in Western Australia were likely to be separate inductions. So there is an indication that it was spread between those birds,” she said.

In other developments in the widening outbreak on Wednesday, it was revealed that Papua New Guinea had taken the drastic action of halting imports of Australian poultry and eggs. However, the temporary ban was later lifted after discussions with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

“We appreciate PNG’s willingness to work cooperatively and to remove some of these restrictions,” Collins said.

Australian chicken meat exports reached a record $133 million in 2023-24. Nearly half went to PNG.

WA Agricultural Minister Jackie Jarvis said there was so far no evidence of mass mortalities among birds following the discovery of the sick birds.

More than 100 reports of potentially sick birds have been made to the national emergency hotline since the first H5N1 detection.

The poultry and agricultural sectors in Australia remain free from the flu, although the industry has been placed on high alert since the cases were confirmed in wild birds.

Major poultry producer Inghams has since announced it would lock down its WA sites to mitigate against any potential risks.

More than 200 million chickens have been culled in the US since the virus arrived there.

The department has been contacted for further comment.

Emergency Animal Disease Hotline 1800 675 888

–with AAP