Experts Warn of Monitoring Gaps in Australia's H5N1 Bird Flu Outbreak

The lethal H5N1 avian influenza strain is spreading rapidly along southern Australia's coast, killing thousands of wild birds and infecting at least two long-nosed fur seals in the region.

Researchers predict the virus will move inland as El Niño conditions shrink wetlands, forcing waterfowl to congregate at limited water sources and increasing the risk of transmission to urban wildlife.

Conservationists urge governments to shift from simple corpse tallies to population-level impact assessments, noting that current monitoring gaps make it difficult to track the virus's effect on vulnerable species.