Australia Reports First Human Case of H5N1 Bird Flu in Child from India

May 22, 2024, 07:59 AM

Australia has reported its first human case of avian influenza H5N1. The case involved a child who contracted the virus while in India in March 2024 and has since fully recovered after being seriously ill. Authorities have confirmed there is no evidence of transmission within Australia, and the likelihood of additional human cases remains very low. Concurrently, a different strain of bird flu has been detected at an egg farm near Melbourne in Victoria, though it is not the H5N1 strain. The exact subtype of this strain is still unknown.