Penguins in Australia Given Bird Flu Vaccine Even Though It Can’t Stop Infection and Transmission
Conservation authorities in Australia have launched a mass H5N1 bird flu vaccination campaign among little penguin populations in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.1 In August 2026, Australian authorities confirmed the country’s first case of the H5N1 bird flu in a little penguin, a species that cannot fly, after finding a deceased bird on Victoria’s Phillip Island outside of the main tourist area.