Australia: Bird flu hits duck farm in Melbourne

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been found on a duck farm near Melbourne close to five poultry farms where the virus had already spread, the government of Australia's Victoria state said. The duck farm was within a quarantine zone set up around other affected facilities and the government said its infection was not a surprise. Authorities are trying to contain outbreaks of two strains of bird flu near Melbourne, an H7N3 strain on four poultry farms and the duck farm and an H7N9 type on a poultry farm about 130 kms (80 miles) to the southwest. Neither strain is the H5N1 type that has infected billions of wild and farmed animals globally, upsetting food supply chains and raising fears of human transmission. "Tests have confirmed the high pathogenicity H7N3 strain at a commercial duck farm," Victoria's agriculture department said in a statement on Thursday. "All ducks at the property will be humanely disposed of under veterinary supervision, consistent with national policies ...