New Zealand reports first H5N1 bird flu case in migratory seabird

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.
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.
“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,” Hoggard said ‌in a statement.
New Zealand has been preparing for the arrival of H5N1, working with the poultry industry to develop biosecurity ‌and resilience plans.
Hoggard said New Zealand may see a similar pattern ⁠to ⁠cases reported in neighboring Australia, where there have been 14 confirmed or presumed positive detections of H5 bird flu as of Wednesday.
Health officials have started a vaccination program for 300 core breeding birds from five of the country’s most endangered species, Hoggard said.
H5 was confirmed on Heard Island, ​a sub-Antarctic Australian territory, ​in late 2025.