Queensland has joined three other Australian states in confirming a case of H5N1 bird flu, after officials announced Saturday that a migratory seabird found dead tested positive for the highly pathogenic virus.
Australia holds the distinction of being the last continent to record a mainland H5N1 infection, with the disease first appearing on Australian soil in June. However, the virus had previously been detected in late 2025 on Heard Island, a sub-Antarctic territory located roughly 4,100 kilometers — about 2,600 miles — from the Australian mainland.
The latest confirmed case brings the total number of infections across Australia to 18. The infected bird was a dead petrel discovered by Queensland park rangers on Moreton Island, a remote natural area located approximately 40 kilometers — about 24 miles — by ferry from Brisbane, the state capital.
Queensland authorities released a statement saying, “There remain no detections in poultry, nor evidence of large-scale deaths in any animals in Queensland,” and emphasized that the threat to public health continues to be low.
The aggressive strain of H5N1 has been spreading through wild bird and mammal populations since 2021, resulting in millions of deaths, as well as outbreaks on poultry and dairy farms and even some infections among farmworkers.
Earlier this month, Australia’s centre-left government announced the country’s first confirmed H5N1 case in a local seabird, sparking concern that the disease may be gaining a broader foothold in the region.
