Highly infectious strain of bird flu confirmed in New Zealand

Wednesday, 15 July 2026

A highly infectious H5 strain of bird flu has been detected in New Zealand for the first time in a brown skua found in Wellington.

Officials say there is no evidence of spread to other wild birds or poultry, and the risk to people remains low.

The public is urged not to handle sick or dead birds and to report groups of three or more dead or unwell wild birds to MPI.

A highly infectious strain of bird flu has been detected in New Zealand for the first time.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, Minister of Biosecurity Andrew Hoggard stressed the virus was “not a human health issue” and poultry and eggs remained safe to eat if cooked.

He said MPI and the poultry industry had done a lot of preparatory work ahead of the arrival of H5N1 in New Zealand but warned of potential mortality rates of “95 to 100%” inside chicken sheds if the virus got in.

Hoggard earlier said the disease was confirmed in a brown skua (seabird) found at Petone Beach in Wellington.

“This is a coastal detection in an individual ocean-going seabird and there is no evidence of any mass mortality in wildlife or transmission between wild birds in New Zealand,” Hoggard said.

“There has been no detection in poultry.”

The bird that was found exhibited no clinical signs of illness, and only raised suspicion because it allowed people to get close.

The bird was found on July 10, and tested two days ago.

The H5 bird flu strain has been circulating globally and has killed millions of birds overseas, particularly chickens, ducks and turkeys.

Infected birds can become very sick and usually die, according to MPI.

When Hoggard was asked if it was inevitable that the disease would spread, he said, “It's a hard one to know.”

“What I would say is what we would emphasise for our poultry industry is having that biosecurity preparedness. We can keep it out,” he said.

“Overseas, they've learnt how to live with it, how to keep it out of their flocks, and to keep the infections as low as possible.”

But the disease has a death rate of between 95 to 100% in chickens, said Hoggard.

“So effectively, the bulk of them are going to die anyway, and you'll need to basically sanitise, cleanse the whole facility to be able to repopulate it and get started again.”

Van Andel said people need to limit dogs’, cats’ and other pets’ contact with sick birds.

Birds that are predators or scavengers can become infected by consuming the carcasses of birds with the disease, said van Andel, alongside marine mammals.

“Mammals can get this disease, and mammals are infected by eating infected birds, and seals,” she said.

“So if you're taking your dog for a walk on the beach, don't let it eat the dead seagull,” Haggard added.

Department of Conservation’s Suliana Teasdale said they “don’t really know” what will happen once the disease begins spreading in Aotearoa.

“But what we know is, we have quite unique fauna and marine mammals and birds, so it could be quite different. But we're just being prepared and rolling out our plans to protect our species as much as we can.”

Chickens, cats and dolphins also at risk

Professor Jemma Geoghegan, virologist from the University of Otago, said she knew it was inevitable that H5N1 would arrive in New Zealand and the detection in Petone was not a surprise.

She said humans were at a low risk of catching the virus unless they had really direct contact with infected animals, noting that poultry and dairy farmers had been among those infected in the US.

“It's primarily a bird disease and we have lots of birds that are already struggling with other things and so this threat is for them.”

She said the virus is “highly pathogenic” in poultry, which can fall ill and die quickly after infection and Geoghegan said that New Zealanders need to be prepared for the mass culling of chickens.

But it’s not just birds at risk, it’s our much-loved marine mammals and even our pet cats.

“Felines generally have a very severe infection and disease,” she told Stuff.

“We've seen marine mammals as well as other mammals like cats, including big cats in zoos, also severely affected by this virus.

“We’'ve seen mass mortality events,” she said, referring to seals and sea lions, and told Stuff even dolphins can be infected with H5N1.

“I think it's safe to say that most seabirds and marine mammals will likely experience a severe infection if they were to be infected.”

In dairy cows, it is the udders that carry the infection and Geoghegan said that although pasteurisation will render the virus dead, it can still be found in traces in the milk.

Fi Roberts, DairyNZ’s head of biosecurity, said the risk to cattle and people remains low, but farmers should stay alert and keep good biosecurity habits in place.

Geoghegan said anyone worried about their pets or backyard poultry should be wary of sick birds in the area.

“And then if you do see signs within your own animals, pets, or backyard poultry then report them to the MPI hotline immediately so that they can do some testing.”

Geoghegan said there was some evidence that it's been spreading among mammals.

“There's lots of evidence that it spreads between dairy cattle across the US and Canada, between elephant seals and within mink farms.

“I think that this virus is adapting to different species as well. So it's been quite amazing to see how many different species can be infected.”

Eggs and poultry safe to eat

Hoggard said the “worst case scenario” would be getting a number of infections within some major poultry production facilities leading to a reduction in eggs and chicken meat.

“You know that's some of the cheapest forms of protein that New Zealanders have available,” he said, adding that it’s why they’ve been 'adamant' on making sure plans were in place to avoid the spread of infections.

“We don't want any supply disruptions there because people are already doing it tough with cost of living. We don't want to make it worse.”

Fiona MacMillan, executive director of the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ), said in a statement that the industry will “remain vigilant” and will be following all MPI biosecurity and response measures closely.

“Our egg and poultry farmers are working hard to look after the welfare of our animals and protect our national food supply of eggs and chicken,” she said.

“The public can be assured it is safe to eat properly cooked poultry, eggs, and egg products.”

What to do if you find sick birds

Dr Mary van Andel, chief veterinary officer at MPI, said the public should look out for sick or dead birds in numbers of three or more.

If the birds are alive, they may exhibit signs such as being paralysed, shaky, having respiratory issues or diarrhoea.

Anyone who sees three or more sick or dead wild birds in a group was urged to immediately report it to MPI’s exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Information that will help MPI included the bird species (if known), the number of sick or freshly dead birds and their exact location (preferably GPS). It is also asked that you take photos or videos of the affected birds.

The Department of Conservation has started a vaccination programme for 300 core breeding birds for New Zealand’s most endangered species, including kākāpō, takahē, tūturuatu/shore plover, kakī/black stilt and kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet.