By Christine ChenSYDNEY, July 10 (Reuters) – Australia on Friday confirmed the first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in a local seabird, saying it was also testing a dead seal for a possible infection, raising concerns that the disease is beginning to spread more widely after it landed in the country last month.Laboratory testing by Australia’s national science agency confirmed the virus was present in a greater crested tern found in the South Australian coastal town of Robe, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt is the first confirmed infection in a mainland Australian seabird, with all other cases being found in migratory seabirds.It brings the total number of positive detections in the country to 12, after authorities on Friday also confirmed two additional infections in South Australia and one in Western Australia.Collins said the development was “concerning” but not unexpected, adding that there was still no evidence of mass mortalities or spread to other animal populations and the poultry or agriculture sector.”Our scientists are undertaking further work to establish the potential pathway that resulted in the Australian seabird’s infection,” she said.AdvertisementAdvertisement”What we do know is that this is a coastal seabird that has an overlapping coastal range with migratory seabirds that have previously tested positive for H5.”The virus spreading to a local seabird was “very bad news,” said Hamish McCallum, an infectious diseases ecologist at Griffith University.”It’s likely that this will be the beginning of many more cases,” he …
