A LOCAL veterinarian has issued a warning following confirmation that Agriculture Victoria was investigating a number of poultry deaths at egg farms near Meredith and Terang.

Agriculture Victoria has confirmed that the H7N3 high pathogenic strain of avian influenza virus is the cause of a number of poultry deaths at the egg farms. The property in Terang is directly connected with the Meredith property, through joint management, staff and machinery.

It is believed that up to 400,000 hens will be culled at the farms as the result of the findings.

Movement controls are now in place to prevent any spread of the virus while the properties are quarantined, all poultry are safely disposed of, and the sites are cleared of the infection. Contact tracing is also underway to determine the source and spread of the infection.

This includes a Restricted Area covering a five-kilometre radius around the infected premises and a broader Control Area buffer zone covering an area of 20 kilometres.

This restricts the movement of poultry, poultry products, equipment and vehicles on or off properties in these areas. Penalties apply for those who do not follow these restrictions.

Victoria’s Chief Veterinarian Graeme Cooke said Agriculture Victoria staff were on-the-ground to support the business and working closely with industry to contain and eradicate the virus.

“Avian influenza is a viral disease of birds found globally,” he said.

“The strain of the virus detected near Meredith is H7N3, which is different from the H5N1 avian influenza strain that’s impacting the USA and other parts of the world. H5N1 has not been detected in birds in Australia.

Livestock Vet Services director Kathryn Robertson said it was concerning the virus had been detected in Victoria.

“I remind everyone with backyard chooks to contact your local vet if you have unexplained chook deaths,” she said.

“Every producer should have an on-farm biosecurity plan and know the signs of diseases that could affect their animals.

“All poultry and bird owners across Victoria are reminded to follow best biosecurity practices such as keeping poultry sheds, yards, aviaries and equipment clean, and restricting contact between your poultry and wild birds, where possible.”

Bird owners should also ensure their footwear is clean, always wash hands before and after handling birds or eggs and quarantine new birds before integrating with existing ones.

Virus strains are described as low pathogenicity (LPAI) or high pathogenicity (HPAI).

While cases among humans in direct contact with animals infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses are possible, the current risk to the public remains low.

One case in a human has been confirmed.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry minister, Murray Watt said while it was a relief this is not the new strain that is affecting other countries like the United States and Antarctica, Australia takes any incident of high pathogenicity avian influenza in Australia extremely seriously.

“My department today enacted its emergency animal disease response plan to support Victoria’s response to this incident,” he said.

“Australia has effective, nationally-agreed response and cost-sharing arrangements in place to address animal disease incursions and outbreaks, and this has swung into action to support Victoria.

“Australia is well practiced in responding to disease incidents in poultry and has successfully responded to eight outbreaks of HPAI in poultry since 1976.

“In all those cases, we were able to eradicate the disease successfully and rapidly with minimal spread between farms.

“Our hearts go out to the affected farmer and the community at this time.”

Consumers should not be concerned about eggs and poultry products from the supermarkets, they do not pose a risk and are safe to consume.

Any suspicion of an emergency animal disease (EAD) should be immediately reported to the 24-hour EAD hotline or to your local vet.

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