Australia will begin targeted vaccinations for bird species considered especially vulnerable to the highly contagious H5 bird flu virus, authorities said on Tuesday.
Environment Minister Murray Watt said the programme would cover both captive and wild birds, although vaccinating wild species presents logistical challenges.
"It is difficult to vaccinate birds in the wild -- it does take two vaccination doses to vaccinate birds," Watt said.
"It is difficult to catch wild birds once, let alone twice," he added, saying captive birds would be the priority while authorities would vaccinate wild birds where possible.
Australia was for years the only continental landmass free of the H5 strain, which has caused severe disease and deaths among poultry and wild birds worldwide.
Mass bird deaths expected
Australia recorded its first H5 case in a migratory seabird in June, while the government reported the country's first mass wildlife mortality event last week.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins warned that more mass bird deaths were likely as the virus spreads.
"This will continue to spread across the country," she said.
Waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds and birds of prey are among the wild species most affected by the H5 strain.
As of Monday, authorities had recorded 231 confirmed or presumed positive detections of H5 bird flu in Australia.
No cases have been detected in poultry or Australia's agricultural production, authorities said.
Almost half of Australia's wild bird species and 83 percent of its mammals are found nowhere else in the world, making the spread of the virus a particular concern for wildlife conservation.
Australian scientists said in June that H5 bird flu had killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on the remote Heard and McDonald Islands.
