[Contagious Conversations] H5N1 avian flu hits our shores

The avian flu H5N1 known as 2.3.4.4b has been tearing around the globe since 2021 causing significant mortality in sea birds and mammals. The Australian and New Zealand mainland were the last holdouts, but this virus was first detected near Esperance, WA on June 20th 2026 and then near Wellington, NZ on Jul 14th. Both cases involved a bird known as the brown skua, which travels across the Southern Ocean, and by August 24th the H5N1 had also been confirmed in fur seals in South Australia and a...