(REUTERS) New Zealand reported its first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu after a migratory seabird found on a beach near the capital, Wellington, tested positive, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard said on Wednesday (July 15).
The case in a brown skua seabird comes after the virus was detected last month in Australia, the last continent to report the virus. The virulent H5 strain 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 New Zealand may see a similar pattern to cases reported in neighbouring Australia, where there have been 14 confirmed or presumed positive detections of H5 bird flu as of Wednesday.
Many of New Zealand's endemic birds are unusually vulnerable because they evolved for millions of years without native land mammals, leaving many unique species, which are flightless, ground-nesting and poorly equipped to defend themselves against predators.
Posted by: Alma Angeles/NET25 News
