Authorities move on potential bird flu case in Canberra

It comes after the bird flu virus was detected at 10 farms across NSW and Victoria, resulting in more than one million chickens being destroyed.

The ACT government was working alongside NSW counterparts on the outbreak and biosecurity measures, Ms Vassarotti said.

"I would like to reassure the Canberra community that the avian influenza virus is a low risk to the public. Transmission to humans is very rare, and unlikely unless there is direct and close contact with sick birds," the minister said in a statement on Wednesday.

Avian influenza is not a food safety concern and it is safe to eat properly handled and cooked poultry meat, eggs and egg products, she said.

The H7 strain of the bird flu virus that has been detected in Australia is not the H5N1 strain, that has infected billions of animals globally and raised fears of transmission to humans.