A year in review with Dr Beth Cookson

 

A year in review 

As 2024 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting the year. This year, the global spread of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b (H5 HPAI) has continued to dominate the news. And with good reason. Outbreaks overseas have resulted in extensive losses of poultry, and mass mortalities of wild birds and mammals, particularly marine mammals and mammals that prey or scavenge on birds. To date, the disease is known to cause infections in over 300 bird species and has been reported in 80 species of mammals around the world. To date, Australia remains the only continent free from this strain of H5 HPAI.

Rest assured; we aren’t resting on our laurels. Australia, through the collaborative efforts of the departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water; Health and Aged Care; and the National Emergency Management Agency, is taking a One Health approach to this cross-sectoral disease threat through the HPAI Taskforce. Together - and along with state and territory governments, Animal Health Australia, Wildlife Health Australia, peak industry groups and non-government organisations - we are working hard to minimise impacts of potential H5 HPAI outbreaks on human health, our animal industries and our unique wildlife.

 

The global approach to H5 HPAI

Since 2020, H5 HPAI has caused significant deaths of poultry, wild birds and wild mammals overseas. Sporadic human infections have also been reported. This year, the United States reported that H5 HPAI had spread to dairy cattle as well as infecting small numbers of pigs, alpaca and goats, indicating that the virus continues to expand its susceptible host range​. While these cases remain isolated to the United States, they highlight that H5 HPAI may evolve to impact sectors beyond the poultry industry.

As Australia’s delegate to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), I can confirm this threat is being taken very seriously by the global animal health community. Over the past 18 months, there has been a heavy focus on raising global awareness about H5 HPAI. WOAH has been advocating a One Health approach to H5 HPAI preparedness and response activities by working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor the evolution of H5 HPAI at the human-animal-environment interface.

Australia is equally committed to networking and partnering with others. We utilise partnerships such as the Quads Alliance (consisting of Australia and government counterparts from New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) to share valuable intelligence and learn from each other. The alliance has been critical in driving a science-based approach to standard setting in WOAH and ensuring consistent messaging when it comes to disease threats such as H5 HPAI.

My office also continues to work with our partner countries in the near region to conduct surveillance for diseases such as HPAI.  These activities support other work being done by the Australian Government to enhance preparedness against H5 HPAI.

 

Investing in preparedness

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry has been monitoring the evolution and spread of H5 HPAI closely for many years and identified the risk that the virus posed through foresight activities.  Australia’s robust animal health status is in part due to our geographical isolation and our strong biosecurity measures. Yet, we know that the risk of H5 HPAI to Australia associated with wild birds has increased, following an expert assessment that was finalised in 2023.  There is no way of preventing new strains of HPAI entering Australia via migratory wild birds, or transmission between wild birds. For this reason, preparedness for this emergency animal disease has been a national focus for many years.

Long-standing initiatives, such as the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird (NAIWB) Surveillance Program and the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy, support rapid detection through reporting and investigation of sick and dead birds, and monitoring of circulating avian influenza viruses. These programs are conducted in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including Wildlife Health Australia, Animal Health Australia, Indigenous rangers, the jurisdictions, and other commonwealth agencies and researchers.

In recognition of the threat posed by H5 HPAI, the Australian Government is investing more than $100 million into HPAI preparedness.  On 14 October 2024, $95 million was announced, which is in addition to the $6.9 million announced in July 2024, to strengthen surveillance, preparedness and response capability in alignment with a ‘One Health’ approach. The package of measures will mitigate the impact of H5 HPAI on Australian agriculture, environment and human health. Of the $95 million, the Australian Government is committing:

• $37 million over 2 years to protect Australian agriculture by enhancing national coordination of response arrangement and communications, strengthening surveillance and boosting biosecurity capacity and capability across the production sector and environmental biosecurity.
• $35.9 million over 2 years to boost and accelerate H5 HPAI preparedness planning and protective action by using the best data available to target actions for our most at-risk species and important natural places.
• $22.1 million over 2 years to manufacture and store pandemic influenza vaccines that will better prepare the Australian Government to respond quickly to a potential influenza pandemic.

 

Exercise Volare

An important part of our national preparedness arrangements is to conduct exercises to test our plans and capabilities.

During August and September, the cross-sectoral HPAI Preparedness Taskforce delivered Exercise Volare, a series of national simulation exercises designed to strengthen the preparedness of the agriculture, environment, and health sectors, to manage potential H5 HPAI incursions.

Exercise Volare engaged key partners, including state and territory agencies, Wildlife Health Australia, Animal Health Australia, industry representatives, and non-government stakeholders. It considered the management of H5 HPAI across wildlife, livestock industries and human health. The exercise highlighted the strengths of Australia’s existing biosecurity frameworks and identified key opportunities for improvement, which directly informed the Australian government's announcement of $95 million in October 2024.

I was actively involved in the exercises and a real highlight was the demonstration of Australia’s collaborative approach to disease preparedness, well-established response framework and a common desire to strengthen coordination and communication mechanisms across sectors. Effective collaboration will be critical if an H5 HPAI incursion were to occur in Australia. It would allow consistent information sharing and an efficient, unified response effort.

 

Australia’s 2024 H7 HPAI outbreak

A test of Australia’s avian influenza preparedness came in the form of outbreaks of H7 HPAI strains on a small number of poultry farms across New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory earlier in the year.  The source of the H7 HPAI outbreaks is believed to be low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) viruses introduced via local wild birds, which evolved to HPAI viruses after circulating in poultry. Australia’s national surveillance programs and excellent diagnostic capability was essential in arriving at this determination so quickly. This was quickly determined thanks to information available via Australia’s national surveillance programs for avian influenza and the excellent diagnostic capacity of our animal health laboratories.

This outbreak though unrelated to the H5 HPAI outbreaks being experienced overseas, was still the largest outbreak we had faced in Australian history and caused supply chain impacts for table eggs and heightened public concern.

I would like to acknowledge the excellent work and swift response of all involved in the national response to contain and eradicate H7 HPAI on the affected farms. This is the ninth time that Australia has successfully responded to H7 HPAI, highlighting the strength and effectiveness of our national response arrangements for HPAI. We remain on track to achieve eradication and regain our country freedom from HPAI in early 2025.

 

Looking Forward

As we look toward 2025, the experience of 2024 underscores the importance of continued investment in biosecurity, animal health research, and international cooperation. With H5 HPAI continuing to evolve and spread across the globe, Australia’s proactive stance on animal health preparedness will be crucial in mitigating future risks. The veterinary sector, alongside government agencies, will remain focused on ensuring that Australia is ready to respond to any emerging threats with a coordinated, science-backed approach.

I encourage you to assist in raising awareness of H5 HPAI amongst the public by steering clients to information on H5 HPAI. Wildlife Health Australia has also released information that specifically applies to wildlife carers. You may also wish to display conversation starters such as the department’s avian influenza poster in your clinic. Biosecurity is a shared responsibility, and I rely on your help to raise public awareness and encourage reporting of suspect avian influenza cases. Together, we can ensure Australia is in the best position possible to detect and respond to potential H5 HPAI incursions.

I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and New Year period. Here’s hoping you all get some well-earned time off to relax and recover from the year. Speak to you all in January!

For the latest updates on the work of the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer, please follow the social media channels of the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer on Twitter/X and LinkedIn.