Avian flu spreads to migratory birds in New Zealand
Sydney (16 July)
One migratory seabird in Wellington has tested positive for the H5N1 flu – a potent variant of the avian flu – but poultry producers have not detected the virus, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard said on 15 July.
A member of the public found and reported the bird at Petone beach on 10 July, Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer Mary van Andel told reporters.
But Wellington Zoo only completed avian flu tests on 15 July, largely because the bird did not initially show clinical signs of illness, van Andel said.
The Government expects more infected birds to show up along New Zealand’s shoreline, Hoggard said. “The worst-case [scenario] would be [that] you get a number of infections within some major production facilities. And so there would be a reduction in eggs and chicken meat,” Hoggard added.
The Government has developed H5N1 response plans with the poultry sector and studied foreign outbreak responses to limit the virus’ spread, according to Hoggard.
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has also launched a vaccination scheme to protect breeding populations of five critically endangered native birds – the kakī, takahē, kākāpō, tūturuatu, and kakariki – the agency said.
MPI does not know how H5N1 will impact native birds, according to van Andel. “The impact [of H5N1] on birds can be very variable. So some species [may] not really be affected at all, and some [species] will die in large numbers,” van Andel said.
H5N1 has a mortality rate of 75% - 100% in poultry and some wild birds, according to Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The virus has infected 207 million American birds across 1023 backyard flocks and 1028 commercial flocks since February 2022, data from the US Department of Agriculture show.
New Zealand’s H5N1 flu outbreak comes less than a month after two migratory birds tested positive for the virus in Western Australia on 22 June. The virus has spread to 14 birds across three states since, according to Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry.
Inghams – Australia’s largest poultry producer – continues to supply chicken to the Australian market as usual, the company said on 22 June. But it has closed its farms and processing plants to non-essential workers as a precautionary measure, the company added.
By Avinash Govind