Risk of Bird Flu Downplayed Despite Seal Deaths

A handout photo taken on Nov. 21, 2012 and released on Oct. 8, 2024 by the Australian Antarctic Division shows a waddle of King Penguins standing on the shores of Corinthian Bay in the Australian territory of Heard Island in the Southern Ocean. Matt Curnock/Australian Antarctic Division/AFP via Getty Images

The federal government has downplayed any imminent risk of bird flu reaching Australia despite an unusual number of deaths in elephant seal pups on the sub-Antarctic territory of Heard Island.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says samples taken from the seals need to be tested under laboratory conditions to confirm whether the deadly H5 strain was responsible.