Queensland’s billion-dollar poultry industry on watch as bird flu reaches state

Authorities are reassuring Queenslanders that chicken and eggs remain safe to eat, even as the state’s poultry industry braces for the potential spread of the H5 strain of bird flu. The virus has been detected in a migratory petrel on Moreton Island, marking Queensland’s first confirmed case in a wild bird, but no cases have been found in commercial flocks.

What is the current status of bird flu in Queensland?

Queensland’s chief veterinary officer, Allison Crook, has urged vigilance after the detection in a migratory petrel. The poultry industry, valued at an estimated $1.08 billion in 2023-24, remains free of the virus. About 85 per cent of the state’s egg production comes from the Darling Downs, 300 kilometres west of Brisbane, which is also a hub for chicken-meat processing.

Dr Crook had previously described a Queensland detection as a matter of “when, not if.” The H5 strain is highly pathogenic in birds, causing severe disease and death, but the risk to human health is considered low.

Are chicken and eggs safe to eat?

Queensland authorities say there is no need for consumers to change their buying or eating habits. If bird flu enters a commercial flock, affected birds are culled rather than treated, so any consumer impact would come through supply and availability, not food safety.

“Chicken meat is now the most consumed meat in Australia, and eggs are a really important source of protein for all families,” said Jo Sheppard, chief executive of Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise and a former Queensland Farmers’ Federation chief executive.

How are farmers preparing?

Farmers like Nick Holliday, who produces eggs near Nanango in the South Burnett, say the response is less about panic and more about continuing biosecurity practices. “It has heightened our awareness, but biosecurity is important to our farm every day of the year, not just when these detections happen,” he said.

Mr Holliday’s pasture-raised egg farm faces unique challenges, as birds are kept on grass with electric netting and mobile sheds. “We don’t have any capacity to lock up birds, so it’s just not an option for us,” he said. The bigger concern is whether the virus could establish itself in native bird populations that live in Australia year-round.

What is the risk to wild birds?

University of Queensland bird ecologist Elize Ng said the detections were consistent with expectations, with seabirds moving north from sub-Antarctic islands likely bringing the virus to Australia’s coastline. The concern now is whether it can move from seabirds into coastal populations and eventually inland, where large gatherings of birds could suffer mass mortality if the species lacks resistance.

What about the Ekka?

One of Queensland’s biggest gatherings of birds, the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka), is going ahead as planned next week. Brendan Christou, chief executive of the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, said the poultry competition would proceed with strict biosecurity protocols. “Each year, all birds entered at the Ekka competition must be declared disease-free and are checked by our veterinary team,” he said.

What should Queenslanders do?

The advice is to carry on as normal, but do not touch sick or dead wild birds. Anyone who finds one should keep children and pets away, avoid handling it, and report it to authorities. For now, Queensland’s first H5 detection remains a wild bird case, not a poultry outbreak. The big question is no longer whether the virus will reach the state, but whether it can be kept out of its poultry farms.