Restrictions ease as bird flu outbreak is quashed in Victoria

Restrictions covering parts of Victoria where the deadly bird flu spread will be scrapped, months after the last case was detected.

Two avian influenza strains were confirmed at 10 sites across Australia, with restrictions for several properties near Terang and Meredith, northwest of Melbourne, being lifted on Thursday.

These include the restricted area around the infected Terang farm being reduced from a five kilometre to a 1.5km radius.

A poultry housing requirement for birds — mainly chickens and ducks — in control areas surrounding Meredith and Terang has also been lifted.

However, the housing requirement remains for restricted areas near both towns, meaning those birds need to remain in their enclosures, to avoid any contact with wild birds.

No further cases of avian influenza have been detected in Victoria since June 24, prompting the rules’ easing.

Victoria’s Acting Chief Veterinary Officer Sally Salmon said disease monitoring activities continued, including property visits and dead bird collections.

“Everyone’s co-operation has been critical in allowing this easing of restrictions,” she said.

“Every text replied to, phone call answered, dead bird report, and live bird testing has, and will, help us get to the next step of lifting restrictions further.”

In Victoria, seven of the infected properties are confirmed to have the H7N3 strain of avian influenza and one infected property near Terang has the H7N9 strain.

The H7N8 strain has infected the NSW farms.

More than one million birds were set to be destroyed in Victoria due to the outbreak and so far NSW’s toll will be more than 320,000.

While it was possible for humans to contract avian influenza viruses when in direct contact with infected animals, Agriculture Victoria said the risk to the public was extremely low.