Avian influenza: Be alert and prepared

Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is a virus that affects all kinds of birds from poultry to migratory shorebirds, sea birds and waterfowl. While many strains of avian influenza cause minimal symptoms, others, such as high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, can have devastating impacts on bird populations and pose a risk to human health, especially in environments where people work with or are exposed to birds.

H5N1 refers to a particular strain of avian influenza. Since 2020, there have been reports of this strain across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, South America and Antarctica. To date, Australia has not had any detected cases of HPAI H5N1, however due to the nature of the virus and the known bird migration patterns tracked through years of surveillance, HPAI H5N1 detection in Australia is likely to occur, potentially this bird migration season.

The Department of Primary Industries understands the virus to be highly contagious and affecting many kinds of birds. While some strains don’t cause any noticeable symptoms, H5 bird flu can cause illness and death in birds. Overseas, H5 bird flu has also transmitted and caused disease and deaths in many mammals both wild and domestic.

In humans, cases of bird flu are typically linked to direct or indirect contact with infected birds—whether they're alive or dead—or through exposure to environments that have been contaminated by the virus.

Who is most at risk of exposure?

People at the highest risk of exposure are those who work with birds and/or in environments with birds and their excrement including:

• parks and wildlife workers (including volunteers)
• poultry production and processing workers
• veterinary staff
• animal refuge and rehabilitation workers (including volunteers)
• groundkeepers
• council workers
• bird breeders and/or bird display workers
• researchers and laboratory workers who handle bird specimens
• people who hunt and handle or butcher wild birds.

Avian influenza and workplace safety

To keep your workplace and employees safe it is recommended that the Look. Report. Protect approach is applied preventatively now:

• do not touch sick or dead birds
• if you see more than five deceased birds near each other, report it to:
  • Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23
  • Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

Other ways to keep your workplace and employees safe include:

• wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before eating, drinking or smoking, and after handling birds, droppings or any contaminated equipment
• when using hand sanitizer, make sure it has at least 60% alcohol and wash hands with soap and water as soon as possible
• cover any cuts or abrasions with clean, dry bandages
• don’t eat, drink or smoke in areas where birds or their droppings are present
• wear clean clothes and footwear when working around birds and avoid direct contact—yes, that includes kissing the birds!

Avian influenza is a serious concern for businesses and by understanding the risks, being vigilant, implementing preventive measures and ensuring proper hygiene and safety protocols, businesses can protect both their employees and the broader community from potential occurrences of this virus.

More information

• Avian influenza
• Managing the work environment and facilities Code of Practice 2021 (PDF, 0.57 MB)
• Wildlife Health Australia HPAI risk mitigation toolboxes
• Avian influenza (bird flu) – Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
• Biosecurity risks to poultry farms
• Avian influenza in humans (bird flu) – Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
• AUSVETPLAN – avian influenza