New Zealand Halts Poultry Exports After H7N6 Outbreak

New Zealand has suspended all poultry exports after detecting the H7N6 avian influenza strain at a chicken farm in Otago. The government confirmed there are no other affected farms and assured that the outbreak poses no human health or food safety risks. Exports will resume once the situation is resolved, with authorities monitoring the 21-day incubation period. The discovery marks New Zealand’s first case of H7 bird flu in 2024.

The H7N6 strain is different from the H5N1 bird flu strain, which has raised concerns about potential human transmission globally, writes Reuters. Biosecurity New Zealand stated that there were no reports of other sick or dead birds on any other poultry farms, and no human health or food safety concerns have been raised.

“We are taking the find seriously,” said Stuart Anderson, Deputy Director General of Biosecurity, New Zealand. "Our testing shows it is unrelated to a H7 strain that was identified in Australia earlier this year, and we believe this case may have happened as part of a spillover event, where laying hens who were foraging outside of the shed were exposed to a low pathogenic virus from wild waterfowl,” he added. 

Andrew Hoggard, Minister of Biosecurity and Food Safety, confirmed the suspension of poultry exports, noting that exports will resume once the situation is resolved on the affected farm. "Until we have cleaned up the situation on this farm, and assuming no other issues pop up anywhere else, then we will be able to export again," Hoggard said.

The incubation period for H7N6 is 21 days at most, at which point authorities will reassess the situation. Biosecurity New Zealand reassured the public that it remains safe to consume thoroughly cooked egg and poultry products. This case marks the first detection of H7 bird flu in New Zealand in 2024.