Newly arrived H5N1 bird flu could be 'catastrophic' for native wildlife, leading scientist says

The newly arrived strain of H5N1 bird flu could be "catastrophic" for our native wildlife, a leading scientist says.

A seabird found on Wellington's Petone beach earlier this week tested positive for the potentially deadly H5 strain of the virus on Wednesday.

It's the first case recorded in New Zealand, following a global outbreak.

Otago University evolutionary biologist Jemma Geoghegan told Morning Report the Department of Conservation (DOC), was vaccinating some endangered populations, but it was challenging as the animals needed to be caught and given two doses.

"DOC has done vaccination trials with five of our taonga bird species and since the arrival of H5N1 in Australia rolled that out much wider where they can actively manage to vaccinate."

Animals needed to be monitored after vaccination Geoghegan said, to make sure it was safe and effective so it could only be done in highly managed populations or on off-shore islands.

"So it's not really feasible to go round vaccinating all the fur seals for example to protect them so what we can do proactively is have early warnings."

Geoghegan said people should look out for birds with signs of H5N1, and rapid reporting and testing was needed.

Many of New Zealand's birds did not exist anywhere else in the world, Geoghegan said, so an outbreak would be "catastrophic" for many populations.

"Tens of thousands of animals have died from this virus so we can only look at what happened overseas and take proactive measures here about what we can do to protect our species."

The strain of flu emerged five or six years ago, Geoghegan said and researchers had been working with DOC to try and understand what viruses New Zealand's sea and shore birds carried.

"These birds carry many, many different viruses that seemingly don't cause any problems to the birds... they have low pathogenic avian influenza viruses that are naturally occurring in the birds.

"We've had a head start seeing how it's spreading, we can see what animals are vulnerable... it's given us a really good platform of information to work closely with different agencies."

Despite the preparation Geoghegan said it was "really hard to sound optimistic" due to how it had decimated populations overseas.

"What we can do is be proactive and take steps and try and get those early warning signs, so when people do see signs of the potential virus they report it."

What to do if you see sick birds

Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard earlier said birds behaving strangely, or a number of birds who had died together, would be the main signs to watch out for.

"Take photos, get a GPS spot if you can, send it through to us, that's the information we need. Obviously don't go and pick it up yourself. Let us know and we'll send the right people around to do it.

"If you are a poultry farmer and you have concerns, obviously talk to your vet and they'll talk to us. Even if you've just got a few chickens in the back yard and you're concerned, talk to your vet."

Officials said anyone who sees three or more sick or dead wild birds in a group should report it immediately to the exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66.