First 'mass mortality' H5 bird flu event confirmed in SA's south-east | ABC NEWS

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has confirmed Australia has 74 cases of H5 bird flu — 54 in SA, 10 in WA, two in NSW, seven in Vic and one in Qld.

CSIRO testing has confirmed that testing of a flock of dead wild birds at Baudin Rocks in South Australia's south-east has come back positive.

The minister says there is no detection of the infection in Australia's poultry systems.

When asked what the government's plan is to deal with mass mortalities, and whether the states and territories have the resources to deal with it, Ms Collins said any response will be based on evidence and advice of experts.

Ms Collins said she didn't have a specific dollar figure regarding the likely impact of mass mortalities, she instead pointed to the H7 bird flu outbreak which cost the poultry industry about $110 million.

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