Invading the globe: Bird flu now threatens Australia and Oceania

A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza, H5N1, has now reached Australia, the last continent previously free of the virus, after migratory seabirds likely carried it from Antarctica. Since mid-June, it has caused roughly 690 recorded events of bird deaths and has begun spilling into mammals, including endangered Australian sea lions and a long-nosed fur seal on the mainland.

The outbreak has killed more than 13,000 baby southern elephant seals on the remote Heard Island and has infected some 613 bird species and 112 mammal species worldwide, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. Scientists describe it as the largest wildlife pandemic on record, with few mitigations available beyond carcass removal and limited vaccination, and it has also infected more than 1,000 people across 25 countries without yet spreading person to person.

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