Egg shortages in supermarkets due to the bird flu outbreak have Hunter producers on edge, while a deadly strain could arrive in spring and threaten the region's wild birds. Login or signup to continue reading The NSW government's biggest concern was that the virus could seriously hit supplies of eggs and chicken. "This is an emergency situation ," one official said.
"We are reliant on large production centres for eggs and meat production. If it gets into those, that's where we've got to pay attention." The outbreak led Coles and Woolworths to introduce two-carton buying limits on eggs, amid concerns about supply and panic-buying.
And experts have warned that the deadly H5N1 avian influenza strain could enter Australia in spring with the bird migration season. However, University of Newcastle Professor Nathan Bartlett said the chances of the virus spreading between humans was "a very low risk at the moment". "H5N1 is highly pathogenic avian influenza.
That's the one currently causing huge levels of deaths in wild birds in Antarctica," he said. "It's capable of jumping into mammals. It's been getting into dairy cows in the US, but there's no record of it being transmitted from human to human.
" Professor Bartlett, a virologist, said "all the documented cases of H5N1 in humans have occurred in people who have very high exposure to infected birds". "That's usually people slaughtering chickens or ducks." On Monday, the Invasive Species Council urged Australian governments to urgent.