New Zealand has detected its first case of H5 bird flu after a migratory seabird tested positive on a Wellington beach, officials announced. The bird, a brown skua, was found on Petone beach. There is no evidence of transmission between wild birds or mass mortality in wildlife, according to Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. New Zealanders have been asked to report sightings of three or more sick birds to authorities.
H5 bird flu has caused severe disease and high death rates in poultry and wild birds worldwide. Neighboring Australia, which had been free of the H5 strain for years, detected its first case in June and has since reported 14 cases.
In response to the threat, New Zealand authorities have taken steps to protect the country's five most endangered bird species—the kakapo, takahe, shore plover, black stilt, and orange-fronted parakeet—by vaccinating breeding bird populations.
New Zealand, prior to human arrival, had no mammals, and many of its unique bird species, such as the kiwi, are flightless. The detection of H5 bird flu underscores the vulnerability of these species to new diseases.
