Victoria has a strong track record in containing H7N8 avian influenza to date, with no new cases since February 2025 - a major milestone in safeguarding our world-class poultry industry.
Victoria's agricultural industry is backed by a $36.7 million Victorian Budget 2025/26 investment which included $20 million to make sure the state is well prepared to respond to biosecurity threats and emergency diseases now and into the future, including avian influenza.
This funding helped to bolster Agriculture Victoria's capacity to respond to the avian influenza outbreak, this includes training staff to build up their capability to respond to the outbreak and investing in equipment to make sure staff have the right tools for the job.
On Friday 13 June, quarantine was revoked on the four infected properties near Euroa and the control order surrounding the area was lifted.
As part of the response staff collected 20,600 samples to test for the virus and issued more than 2,100 permits that had to be meticulously assessed to allow poultry and other materials to continue to move safely around the state.
The owners of 350 properties in the surrounding region played a vital role in the response by following strict quarantine and movement requirements for their poultry - helping to stop the outbreak from spreading further.
Agriculture Victoria led a coordinated response, working closely with the poultry industry and community to contain the outbreak.
Victoria's poultry industry is worth $957 million and supports with 2,550 jobs. Strong support from industry and community played a key role in containing the spread of the disease and shielding Victoria's egg and poultry supply chain from more significant impacts.
Local businesses also provided vital support to the influx of response staff, through services such as food, fuel, accommodation, cleaning and security services, equipment, and repair and maintenance supplies.
Community and industry support, hard work and cooperation, are key to helping to maintain an effective outbreak response to this high pathogenicity H7 strain of the avian influenza virus.
As stated by Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence
"The continued cooperation of the Euroa community and surrounds, the poultry industry, and Agriculture Victoria staff, have helped protect our bird and poultry industries and maintain trust in our food products."
"While the lifting of control orders is a positive step, ongoing vigilance remains crucial to protect our agricultural sector and prevent future outbreaks."
