Source: Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
Avian influenza
The serious strain of bird flu, H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) – commonly known as H5 bird flu – has killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds and seals around the world.
It has not yet reached Australia, Australian Antarctic territory nor – to anyone’s knowledge – either of Australia’s two sub-Antarctic island groups, Macquarie Island or HIMI.
However, affected animals have been found on the French Kerguelen and Crozet sub-Antarctic islands, which are only 450km from HIMI.
Wildlife ecologist Dr Julie McInnes and her team are heading to Heard Island to survey seabird populations, map breeding colonies, and monitor signs of H5 bird flu, working in collaboration with the seal survey team.
But her first job will be visually scoping for signs of the virus.
“We’ll use helicopters initially to give us a broad overview of the island and allow us to assess for wildlife mortalities in larger species such as elephant seals,” Dr McInnes said.
“From there we will use a combination of drones, zodiacs and on-ground surveys with personal protective equipment (PPE) to assess for signs of the disease across the island.”
If wildlife mortalities or signs of H5 bird flu are present, a subset of the team will be dedicated to sampling. This will only be carried out if it is safe to do so.
Samples will be packaged and shipped according to the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, by expeditioners with approved training.
They will be submitted to the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness for PCR screening tests to confirm the presence or absence of HPAI.
There is no risk of introducing H5 bird flu to Australia through these samples, which are classified as UN3373 – Biological Substances, Category B.
They will be packed on Heard Island following strict IATA triple packing regulations designed to prevent leakage.
The rest of the sea bird team will carry out population surveys to provide valuable information on abundance and distribution of priority wildlife species.
The population survey work on V1 is being done on the animals that will be present and breeding in October – elephant seals, black-browed albatross, southern giant petrels, gentoo penguins, and the endemic Heard Island cormorant – by walking parties and drones.
“The thing about sub-Antarctic islands that just blows my mind is the high densities of animals,” Dr McInnes said.
“These small islands spotted through the Southern Ocean provide essential habitat for wildlife to come ashore to breed.
“Heard Island is a stronghold for some species, for example there’s thought to be over a million macaroni penguins on Heard Island.”
King penguins on Heard Island Photo: Stephen Brown