Australia’s chief veterinary officer announced on Wednesday that the highly dangerous H5 bird flu virus has begun to spread locally among wild birds. “This news of some local transmission may mean we start to see wider spread among wild birds,” Chief government veterinary officer Beth Cookson told reporters. Scientists detected the first Australian instance in a migrating gull in June and warned that the virus would soon infect local bird populations. This week, the national scientific laboratory confirmed seven cases of H5 bird flu in greater crested terns in South Australia, bringing the national total to 27 positive detections. Nearly half of Australia’s wild bird species and 83% of its animals live nowhere else in the world.