NSW Farm Hit By First Avian Influenza Outbreak In 11 Years, Prompting Biosecurity Lockdown

The first case of avian influenza in New South Wales in eleven years has been found at a farm in the Hawkesbury area of Greater Sydney.

The H7N8 virus, suspected to have originated from sick wild birds, has sparked emergency biosecurity measures and possible interruptions to the local egg supply.

Following the disease's confirmation on Wednesday, the site has been placed under an urgent biosecurity lockdown, according to the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The extremely infectious viral illness known as "bird flu," sometimes known as "avian influenza," mostly affects birds and has a high death rate, 9 News reported.

The egg industry said that there was no scarcity of eggs and that consuming eggs or chicken products does not pose any health risks, although it may create some limited supply problems.

"These new cases of avian influenza will cause further disruption to egg supply in some areas, but we're still a long way from a collapse in supply," Rowan McMonnies, the managing director of peak body Australian Eggs, told The Guardian.

"The natural threat of [avian influenza] is ever present and the next few months will be challenging for Australian egg farms, but the industry will continue to work hard to ensure there's eggs on shelves."

According to NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty's statement on Wednesday, contact with sick wild birds is probably the cause of the epidemic, which is different from the recent Victorian occurrences. To stop the virus from spreading, Moriarty said the farm will be "depopulated," meaning all of the birds will be put to death.

The government has responded by triggering its emergency protocol for animal diseases and putting the impacted farm under lockdown, limiting the movement of both animals and equipment.

In addition, a control order enforcing biosecurity protocols has been issued for the farm, with a radius of one to two kilometers.