Australia Detects Dangerous Bird Flu Strain in Wild Seabirds

Australia found H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b—the bird flu strain ravaging Europe and the Americas—in two wild seabirds off Western Australia in June 2026. Migratory birds carried it across the ocean, bypassing border controls. No chicken farms have been hit yet, but the risk of spillover to poultry remains real.