Arabic version: نيوزيلندا تؤكد إصابة سكوَة بحرية بنية بـ H5N1
New Zealand has recorded its first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu after a migratory brown skua found on a beach near the capital Wellington tested positive, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard announced.
According to ABC News, the detection follows reports of the virus in Australia last month and comes after the H5 strain has spread through wild bird and mammal populations since 2021, killing millions and infecting poultry and dairy farms as well as some farm workers. Mr Hoggard said “There is no evidence of any mass mortality in wildlife or transmission between wild birds in New Zealand. There has been no detection in poultry.”
There has been no detection in poultry and no evidence of mass mortality or transmission between wild birds in New Zealand at this stage, officials said. The case in a brown skua follows the virus being detected in Australia, which was the last continent to report the virus. Brett Gartrell, a professor of wildlife health at Massey University, told Reuters he was “incredibly worried about New Zealand’s biodiversity because our birds have never had to deal with anything like this before,” and warned “If it spreads quickly in New Zealand, we could be in trouble.”
New Zealand’s wild birds are unusually vulnerable: many species evolved for millions of years without native land mammals and are flightless, ground-nesting and poorly equipped to defend themselves against predators. That isolation has left many species highly exposed to habitat loss and introduced pests such as stoats, rats and feral cats, and many are already endangered, increasing the extinction risk if the virus spreads rapidly.
New Zealand has been preparing for the arrival of H5N1 by working with the poultry industry to develop biosecurity and resilience plans. Officials said New Zealand may see a similar pattern to cases reported in Australia, where there have been 14 confirmed or presumed positive detections of H5N1 bird flu. Health officials have started a vaccination programme for 300 core breeding birds from five of the country’s most endangered species, including flightless takahe and kakapo, though experts cautioned those birds “won’t be fully immune if it spreads too quickly.” What happens next: health officials will continue monitoring wildlife and poultry for further detections and carry out the targeted vaccination programme.
Related sections: Australia/استراليا | South Australia | General | World/العالم
