Human cases of bird flu are extremely rare but the disease can be severe. The mortality rate in humans is more than 50 per cent. Testing at the weekend confirmed the child had been sick with H5N1,the highly pathogenic version of the virus.
“Fortunately,this virus,the avian influenza H5N1,is actually much,much less transmissible than seasonal flu,” Victorian Chief Health Officer Dr Clare Looker said on ABC radio. “There are very few cases internationally of this being passed from human to human.”
Looker said authorities were satisfied the child did not pass on the virus to family members.
Authorities have been on alert for a particularly virulent strain of H5N1 ripping through wildlife populations on every continent except Australia.
Fears the virus could evolve to pass between mammals were sparked earlier this year when herds of cows in the US state of Texas were infected with the virus and a dairy worker fell ill. Sustained transmission of avian flu between humans has not been recorded.
The last bird flu outbreak in Australia was detected among poultry in 2020.