Seal found dead at Beachport in South Australia presages ‘significant losses’, minister warns
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A long-nosed fur seal has died from H5 bird flu in South Australia, marking the first confirmed case in a mammal on the Australian mainland.
The seal was found dead at Beachport on Wednesday on the state’s Limestone Coast.
It marks a fresh escalation in the spread of the virus days after the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, announced three mass mortality events on offshore islands involving more than 1,000 greater crested terns.
The federal agriculture minister, Julie Collins, said the seal death was “not unexpected” as the virus begins to spread through the country.
