A timeline of New Zealand’s first H5 bird flu case

Thursday, 16 July 2026

Biosecurity officials have confirmed the first New Zealand case of the deadly H5 bird flu virus. While human risk is low, endangered native birds are at high risk, prompting immediate vaccination and protective measures.

Shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, a dreaded - but not unexpected - email entered media inboxes around the country.

H5N1 bird flu had been found in New Zealand.

A single brown skua, found on Petone Beach in Wellington, had tested positive for the strain.

This didn’t come as a surprise - H5N1 bird flu has been circulating the globe and New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has been preparing for its arrival.

But it is a major concern for the country’s poultry industry and native wildlife.

At a press conference on Wednesday evening, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard warned that if the virus reaches a commercial chicken shed, the mortality rates could be between 95% and 100%.

However, that stand-up also revealed that the unwell skua had been found five full days before the public were informed.

Here’s what we know about went on in the interim.

July 10

The bird was found by a concerned member of the public last Friday, July 10 - the Matariki public holiday.

According to MPI’s chief veterinary officer, Mary van Andel, the individual became concerned because it “wasn’t reacting as you'd expect a wild bird to” and reported it to a rehabilitation facility.

“It was allowing people to approach, those types of things,” she said of the bird.

“The rehabilitator called the exotic pest and disease hotline at DOC, and DOC was able to advise them to bring that animal to the Wellington Zoo.”

The skua was taken to the zoo that day and staff took swab samples and quarantined the bird.

MPI does not know how long it had been on the beach before the member of the public reported it.

July 11, 12

The samples taken on Friday were not tested over the weekend. They, along with the quarantined skua, were held at Wellington Zoo.

Asked why this was the case, van Andel said weekend testing was not necessary.

“I think we can have an increased sense of urgency when it's warranted,” she said. “So if there's a mass die-off of birds, then those will be more urgently triaged and we will ask our laboratory staff to work over the weekend.

“But a single bird in quarantine is is not a risk.”

Evolutionary Virologist Jemma Geoghegan explains how to ID a sick bird.

A MPI spokesperson said the bird was eating and showing signs of improvement during this time.

July 13, 14

On Monday, the skua’s swab samples were sent to MPI’s laboratory for testing.

PCR testing on Tuesday returned a positive result for Influenza A and H5 subtype. That meant genomic sequencing was needed to confirm whether it was a high or low pathogenicity virus (low pathogenicity avian influenza is already present in our wild bird populations).

A sequencing run can take up to 48 hours, but van Andel said they were fortunate and a match to H5N1 was found in just 24 hours.

That was on Wednesday, when the public were notified.

Van Andel reiterated that results can be expedited in future, if MPI deems it necessary.

Along with evidence of mass die-offs, animals that cannot be quarantined would also warrant expedited testing, she said.

And while the lab may not run all the time - she confirmed that MPI’s investigators work 24/7, meaning people will always be available to receive calls from the public and triage reports.