Scientists have published the first results of a nationwide sampling project targeting bird flu A ‘low-pathogenic’ strain was detected in red knots, but there’s no sign yet of the high-risk H5N1 that’s spread elsewhere in world A planning document released under the Official Information Act reveals how New Zealand would respond to a human outbreak of bird flu Scientists have detected a “low-pathogenic” avian flu in a shorebird known to migrate here – but there’s no trace yet of a dangerous strain that has wiped out hundreds of millions of birds worldwide. A virologist co-leading the nationwide sampling effort, however, says it’s a “matter of time” before the deadly H5N1 strain arrives. Scientists fear it could devastate some of New Zealand’s endangered native populations – and officials say options beyond vaccination and spreading them to multiple locations would be “limited”.
Their first published results come as a contingency plan released under the Official Information Act reveals how the health system would respond to an H5N1 outbreak in humans..