Australia to evacuate sub-Antarctic research base over bird flu fears
Australia said Friday it would evacuate workers from a research station on a remote island over the "psychosocial" risk posed by a potential outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza.
Australia has announced plans to evacuate workers from its research station on Macquarie Island due to concerns over a potential outbreak of highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza. The remote island, located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica, houses an Australian research facility alongside a population of thousands of elephant seals.
Elephant seals are highly susceptible to H5N1, and while no cases have been reported on the island, officials anticipate significant mortality among the seals during the breeding season, which spans September to November. While the risk to humans from H5N1 is deemed low, the deputy secretary of Canberra's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Sean Sullivan, emphasized the importance of addressing the psychosocial risks faced by the workers.
The 24 tradespeople, scientists, and support staff will be evacuated via the RSV Nuyina icebreaker in September or early October. This precautionary measure follows reports of thousands of elephant seal pups succumbing to bird flu on another remote Australian territory, Heard and McDonald Islands. Australia is the only continental landmass that has remained free of the H5 strain, which has caused significant illness and death among poultry and wild birds globally.
As of Friday, authorities have confirmed 341 cases of H5 bird flu in Australia, with no instances detected in poultry or agricultural production.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
