A native Australian species has been struck down by the H5 bird flue strain in NSW for the first time. The birds were discovered in opposite areas of NSW, one near Narooma on the south coast and the other near Wentworth, in western NSW. Both were tested at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness and both confirmed to have been affected by the H5 strain. It is the first time that a native Aussie species has tested positive for H5 bird flu in NSW – although native birds have succumbed to it in other parts of Australia. “Birds in the Murray-Darling basin are already in decline due to feral animals, insufficient water to critical wetlands and the loss of habitat – now they have a deadly disease to contend with.