The Hawkesbury outbreak was the most significant in NSW, with more than 320,000 animals destroyed since June 2024 to curb the spread of the potentially devastating disease.
The strain was found at two commercial poultry farms and four other premises but no new cases have been found since July 2024.
From January 24, restrictions on the movement of birds, objects and other equipment will end and designated emergency zones will be scrapped.
Some 6801 samples were tested since the outbreak began, with 76,000 texts sent to property owners and 288 people tasked to work on the response.
The H7N8 strain was found in NSW, with one case detected in the ACT at a property linked to one of the affected NSW properties. It was not connected to an earlier outbreak in Victoria.
Agriculture Victoria earlier in January lifted quarantine from the last of eight commercial properties impacted by that state's avian influenza outbreak.
About one million birds were destroyed to bring the Victorian outbreak, Australia’s largest on record, under control.
The mass culling of birds in NSW and Victoria led to widespread and continuing egg shortages in supermarkets.
The 163-day response included movement restrictions for poultry, related products and equipment and an order for poultry to limit interaction with wild birds.
Avian influenza, commonly known as ‘bird flu’, is a highly contagious virus that can cause sudden death in poultry.
Cases detected in Australia are different to the H5N1 strain that has devastated animal populations overseas.
Australia remains the only continent free of the highly pathogenic strain that has led to major outbreaks in wild populations and at poultry and dairy farms.
The World Health Organization says the deadly H5N1 strain rarely affects humans and is not easily transferred between people.
– with AAP.
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