A bird flu outbreak has been detected at a farm in Victoria region, prompting authorities to issue an alert.
A free-range egg farm near Lethbridge, just outside Geelong, has tested H7N7 avian influenza virus positive.
The outbreak, the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services said, poses no danger to humans.
“(The H7N7 virus) rarely affects humans unless there is direct and close contact with sick birds,” the department wrote in an update online.
“There are no food safety issues identified; properly cooked chicken meat and eggs are safe to eat.”
Avian influenza (AI), or ‘bird flu,’ is a highly contagious viral disease that affects several bird species.
In rare cases, it is a zoonotic disease that can infect humans, usually by contact with infected poultry.
Movement controls in the Golden Plains Shire are now in operation, Agriculture Victoria has reported.
Further information is available here.