Backyard chickens in Canberra test positive for bird flu

It is the second confirmed case of bird flu in the ACT since a NSW outbreak.

Chickens at Pace Farms facility on Parkwood Road in MacGregor were found to have the virus in late June.

When the government became aware of the Pace Farm outbreak, it implemented two quarantine zones.

The restricted quarantine area is within 10 kilometres of Pace Farm, including parts of Macgregor, Macnamara and Strathnairn. ACT acting chief veterinary officer Kyeelee Driver confirmed the second case was from a property in one of these suburbs.

Authorities are investigating how the transmission occurred. There were three chickens on the property and the owners made the decision to euthanise the other two chickens.

"The ACT government is working with the owners of the flock to take rapid, reasonable and practical steps to manage the biosecurity risks," Dr Driver said.

"The detection shows that our surveillance systems are working."

Dr Driver said authorities were not considering extending the quarantine area at this point in time.

"We have acted quickly in response to this detection and believe there is a very low risk of spread to other poultry in the ACT from this site," she said.

The second confirmed case of the virus H7N8 is the same strain that was detected at the Pace Farms facility.

Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the case was detected after one of the animals in the flock became sick and it died suddenly overnight.

"While this is unfortunate it's not unexpected to see another detection within the quarantine area," she said.

Ms Vassarotti said tracing was happening to try and determine the source and the spread of the infection.

Canberrans with birds in the quarantined area are being asked to fill out a form so authorities can determine the numbers of domestic birds within the area.

"This will greatly assisted us in understanding the risk of avian influenza spreading in the immediate area," Ms Vassarotti said.

Those with backyard birds are being urged to ensure they do not have any access to wild birds.

People are being urged to practise good hygiene when handling birds, including washing your hands after coming into contact with birds and thoroughly cleaning clothes worn when handling them.

Equipment, such as cages, should be disinfected thoroughly if they have been used to transport birds.

Avian influenza was detected at two commercial poultry farms in NSW in June 2024.

There is also global outbreak of avian influenza, but it is different virus (H5N1) to that impacting birds in NSW and ACT.

Two separate strains of bird flu have also been detected in Victoria. Those are also not connected to the NSW/ACT outbreak, or the global outbreak.

The virus can infect a wide number of birds including chickens, emus and wild birds.

Bird flu has transferred to humans in very rare cases but Ms Vassarotti has moved to reassure the community that this is very unlikely in these cases.

"I did really want to ensure the Canberra community that avian influenza virus is of low risk to the public," she said.

"Public transmission in humans is very rare and unlikely unless there has been direct and close contact with sick birds."