August 28, 2026
Testing at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness has confirmed H5 bird flu in a red fox.
The animal was found in metropolitan Adelaide.
This is the third detection of H5 bird flu in a mammal in Australia, and the first in a land mammal.
A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson said that on other continents, infection had been documented in a wide range of terrestrial carnivores, particularly species that scavenge carcasses.
The spokesperson this detection in a fox was a good reminder that people and their pets should avoid sick or dead wildlife.
There remain no detections in poultry or in our agricultural production system and the risk to human health remains low.
