Matthew J. Neave

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.

The paper investigates the ecology of low pathogenicity H7 avian influenza virus in wild birds in southeast Australia before the emergence of high pathogenicity H7 in poultry, finding weak evidence of prior changes in prevalence and diversity but strong support for a rainfall pattern association with outbreak probability.

The paper reports a multi-species outbreak of HPAI H5N1 on Heard Island, causing mass mortality in southern elephant seals and other seabirds, with drones used for monitoring.

The study conducted migratory bird and marine mammal surveillance in 2025 and found no evidence of HPAI H5N1 2.3.4.4b in Australia, though low pathogenicity avian influenza was detected.

The study surveils migratory shorebirds and seabirds in Australia in 2024, finding no HPAI H5N1 but detecting diverse LPAI viruses, including mosaic H3N7 and H4N7 from Red-necked Stints and a Eurasian H1N7.

The paper compares two avian influenza virus incursions in Australia, showing contrasting evolutionary dynamics between H4 and H10 viruses.