The New South Wales government is “comfortable” with the handling of the bid flu outbreak at an egg farm in Hawkesbury.
It’s the first time avian influenza has been detected in New South Wales in 11 years, and follows the detection in Victoria last month.
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The H7N8 strain was detected at Hawkesbury – different to the H7N3 and H7N9 strains detected in Victoria.
NSW Health and NSW Department of Primary Industries are working together to conduct health assessments for people who may have been exposed to the virus.
New South Wales health minister Ryan Park said the virus doesn’t “transit easily between people”.
“We’re comfortable where it is at the moment. Everyone who is linked to that farm has been or will be contacted now by New South Wales Health, to give them some advice, carry out an assessment and make sure they know what to do,” he said.
“This presents like many other flus and provides those sort of flu-like symptoms that people get. It’s a flu that… doesn’t transmit easily between people. It doesn’t transmit easily from animal to human.”
While the outbreak may cause some supply disruptions locally, the egg industry believes there are no safety concvers around eating eggs or poultry, and expects no egg shortage.
The outbreak in Victoria has caused more than one million chickens and ducks to be euthanised.