Queensland has become Australia’s fourth state to confirm a case of bird flu.
Authorities confirmed the case on Saturday after a migratory petrel was found washed up on Moreton Island, about 40km by ferry from Brisbane.
There has now been 18 confirmed infections across four states, including the dead petrel found by Queensland park rangers.
The latest case was confirmed after samples from the bird were sent to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness for testing.
Western Australia has reported 10 cases, South Australia five, New South Wales two, and Queensland one.
Australia was the final continent to confirm a mainland case of H5N1 when the disease was detected on a migratory seabird in June in Western Australia.
The disease had been detected in late 2025 on the sub-Antarctic territory of Heard Island about 4,100km from continental Australia.
“There remain no detections in poultry, nor evidence of large-scale deaths in any animals in Queensland,” the authorities said in a statement, adding that the risk to human health remained low.
Queensland’s chief veterinary officer Alison Crook said enhanced surveillance programs would encourage community vigilance.
“We have known that a H5 bird flu detection in Queensland was a matter of when, not if,” Dr Crook said.
“The Queensland Government is well prepared to respond.
“We are continuing our enhanced passive surveillance program throughout the state and would encourage the community and industry to continue to be vigilant.
“If you find sick or dead wild birds or wildlife, avoid contact, keep children and pets away, record what you see, and report immediately.”
The virulent strain of bird flu has spread through wild bird and mammal populations since 2021, killing millions, infecting poultry and dairy farms and even some farmworkers.
Queenslanders have been instructed not to touch dead birds, but to report them to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.