Bird poo concerns in SA town grappling with avian flu

A small dock in the coastal town of Port Macdonnell has long been covered in bird poo.

While the patchy paint job, courtesy of Mother Nature, was once merely considered unsightly, the spread of the deadly avian flu has left some residents worried.

"We're a bit concerned about the bird droppings over the pontoon where we go fishing every day," Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club member Jennifer Cleary said. 

"It should be cleaned up and maintained … because children go down there fishing."

Ms Cleary said people regularly visited the dock, often with their dogs, and was worried the strain might mutate and spread to humans.

A hot topic at the forum

Last week, Ms Cleary was among around 80 people who attended a bird flu information session at the local community complex.

A handful of residents raised an issue related to bird faeces — some keen for reassurance around the level of risk from any droppings getting into untreated rainwater via home rooftop collection.

While the state government representatives at the session were armed with slides, maps and data, the last-minute absence of an SA Health spokesperson left some specific queries unanswered.

In a recent statement, SA Health said the risk to human health from bird flu remained low.

"Rainwater should always be collected in well-managed tanks from well-maintained roof catchment areas and should be protected from small animals including birds, regardless of avian influenza," it read.

"Walking past a dead or sick bird, or its faeces/waste, without touching it does not put people at risk."

While a relatively small number of people have ever contracted bird flu worldwide, worries around accidental touching and indirect exposure are causing much of the local unease.

Resident Hilary Nicholson, another member of the off-shore angling club, echoed fears of avian flu being spread to humans and wanted a plan for public spaces prone to droppings to be regularly cleaned.

"At the moment, we have nothing," Mr Nicholson said.

The SA government has teams along the Limestone Coast tasked with collecting and disposing of carcasses; however, the general cleaning of bird poo is not part of this undertaking.

"We've just been doing our business as normal with our normal routine cleaning," local Mayor Kylie Boston said.

Human health risk 'incredibly small'

Adelaide University epidemiologist Adrian Esterman was closely studying the potential for H5-N1 to mutate and become a human issue.

"At the moment, it's not," Professor Esterman said.

"No-one's actually caught it from, for example, touching a bird dropping or anything like that.

"Touching a dropping in the street is not going to give you an infection unless you're silly enough to stick your finger down your throat afterwards."

Professor Esterman said, for most people, if they were not exposed to dead birds or infected animals, the risk was "nearly zero".

He said droppings that did carry diseases could end up on roofs and in gutters, but it was not cause for alarm given the quantity.

"A tiny, tiny amount of virus particles in a huge amount of water is incredibly diluted,"

he said.

"When you drink it … your stomach acids will destroy viruses."

The epidemiologist said the only potential issue from tank water was when someone living at the property was "very elderly" or immunocompromised.

"Then you might consider perhaps disinfecting the water supply," he said.

Away from the Port MacDonnell pontoon at the local park surrounded by seagulls, visitor Lyndon Hampel said he tended to avoid any bird faeces he might see on public benches.

"We'd be concerned if there were bird droppings right there … but not because of bird flu," said the Loxton resident.

"From actual s*** being there, I guess."

If you find a sick or dead bird, take photos or video, if possible, and report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.