First detected incursions of avian influenza H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b into mainland Australia from the Southern Ocean
Matthew J. Neave, Sam Hair, Patrick Mileto, Jackie E. Mahar, Vittoria Stevens, Kelly Davies, Mark O'Dea, Sadia Iqbal, Jamie Ong, Andrew Hughes, Jianning Wang, Nathan Fox, Jodie C. Crowder, Donna Gillies, Jeff Butler, , Frank Y. K. Wong
The paper reports the first detection of H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in mainland Australia from seabirds, tracing the viruses to Heard Island via phylogenetic analysis and highlighting the risk of mainland establishment.
bioRxiv · Aug 10, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology