‘Grim faces’: Inside SA’s bird flu response
InDaily columnist Mike Smithson was the only journalist invited into the state government’s Emergency Management Cabinet Committee. He takes you inside the bird flu war room and reveals what to expect.
It’s hard to see a smooth road ahead if H5 bird flu takes flight in South Australia, with no pun intended.
Events of last week made me sit up and take notice, in a way I haven’t experienced since the first days of Covid-19 back in 2020.
The grim faces sitting around the table of a hastily called Emergency Management Cabinet Committee explained plenty.
The Premier was flanked by his key political architects as well as the Deputy Police Commissioner, the Chief Public Health Officer and many others.
The only levity before the meeting started was the Premier welcoming a prominent media identity to the room for a brief television picture opportunity.
These occasions allow one media outlet into the top security cabinet room to film vision to share with all other networks.
I thought this was a nice personal touch from him, being the only journalist there.
But I was on the receiving end of his deliberate mirth when he then heaped praise on our cameraman, who is a media identity in his own right.
But that’s when the light-hearted stuff abruptly ended.
Peter Malinauskas then outlined a plan to stay ahead of a very steep curve combatting bird flu.
An hour later, he fronted a full media conference with news that it’s only a matter of time before SA could be invaded with the strain and potentially devastating consequences.
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Yes, planning has been on a “war footing” for such an occurrence, but no one can accurately predict the length and breadth of what’s ahead.
At that initial stage, one case had been detected in WA, soon to be followed by another.
Then there was a positive case on our south coast at Port Elliot after a subantarctic giant petrel was found dead.
Few people had any idea of the risk to our poultry industry.
We see farms and sheds as we travel north on highways out of the city, but I was gob-smacked that 120 million birds are housed here, ready for processing and consumption.
The Premier didn’t hold back in outlining a mass extermination procedure should H5 penetrate the walls of these businesses.
It’s frightening, and it’s a looming possibility.
Procedures are in place to mitigate the damage, such as drone patrols on our far west coast on the lookout for sick wildlife, including the sea lions.
It ramped up again yesterday with more rapid response measures announced, including portable decontamination units to clean vehicles and equipment on any infected properties.
My comparison to Covid days isn’t designed to be alarmist, but similar thoughts crossed my mind last week as those that occurred back in March 2020.
It was at the tail end of the Adelaide Fringe when SA was still in party mode, but then Premier Steven Marshall wasn’t inclined to shut the fun down before its last hurrah on Sunday March 15 that year.
He and Professor Nicola Spurrier both gave grim warnings about the mysterious pandemic virus headed our way but were prepared to let the Fringe conclude, which I found strange, at the time, given the risks which were approaching like a lightning bolt.
At midnight that day a state public health emergency was declared.
By March 22 it officially had major emergency status with all SA borders closed just two days later.
Within weeks we were wearing masks as a mandatory measure and, for short bursts, unable to leave our homes except for a few hours a day.
Last week Premier Malinauskas was in the same media conference room preaching a similar tone and what was at stake.
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Professor Spurrier achieved rock star status during the Covid outbreak and if bird flu takes off in its predicted fashion, she could be a front person again reassuring South Australians of the best course of action.
Fortunately, the risks to human health are far less severe than with Covid.
The virus doesn’t spread easily from person to person.
But it’s still possible with symptoms being fever, coughing, sore throats, red eyes and muscle aches.
The Premier and others were acutely aware of warning us not to touch or handle any sick or dead wildlife and to keep pets away from birds on beaches or in reserves.
No kidding.
The fact that PIRSA authorities donned full protective hazardous material suits when they retrieved the dead wildlife didn’t fill me with far-reaching optimism.
It’s a sensible and prudent safety measure, but does it potentially point towards something far more sinister that we’re not being told about?
Another ominous sign came with volunteers, who’d encountered unwell birds, being prescribed the antiviral Tamiflu if required.
I have more trepidation about the fallout from bird flu than I did about the health effects of last winter’s algal bloom.
Dead creatures are a tragic and horrible sight wherever they are.
But the uncertainty of bird flu, and the devastation it could cause to a massive chunk of the state’s economy, is now harder to swallow coming hot on the heels of the disappearing bloom.
The Premier and his family start their well-deserved winter holiday break later this week.
They’re likely to be sunning themselves somewhere and trying to forget about the stress of running the state or being the loyally supportive family unit.
Almost a year ago the Premier returned from his holiday tanned but carrying the heavy load of missing in action as the algal bloom exploded.
Initially he tried to distance himself from an image problem but then dived headlong into the recovery program.
His upcoming holiday pina coladas might be sipped between scrolling on his phone for unwanted alerts and messages over H5 bird flu.
There’s never a good time to take holidays for any Premier, but especially when he’s flying out through an obvious banner of red flags that something is about to hit.
There’s plenty of backup personnel, but it never replaces the “real thing” namely the Premier himself.
Last year’s algal pressure on his then Deputy, Susan Close, may have assisted in her decision to quit politics.
It’s now a different potential problem with a much different scientific solution, but it’s a problem nevertheless.
Mike Smithson is weekend newsreader and political analyst for 7News.
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