H5N1 Bird Flu Reaches New Zealand as First Migratory Seabird Tests Positive
WELLINGTON — New Zealand has reported its first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu after a migratory seabird found on a beach near the capital tested positive, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard said on Wednesday.
The brown skua, a seabird, was discovered with the virus, which has spread through wild bird and mammal populations since 2021, killing millions and infecting poultry and dairy farms as well as some farmworkers.
Hoggard said there is no evidence of mass mortality in wildlife or transmission between wild birds in New Zealand, and no detections in poultry. The country has been preparing for the arrival of H5N1, working with the poultry industry on biosecurity plans.
Health officials have started a vaccination program for 300 core breeding birds from five of the country’s most endangered species, Hoggard added.
The detection follows confirmed cases in Australia, where 14 detections of H5 have been reported as of Wednesday, and on Heard Island, a sub-Antarctic Australian territory, in late 2025.
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