What you need to know as a horse owner about the current Avian Influenza cases in New Zealand
The NZEHA would like to recognise the discovery of an avian influenza pathogen on a poultry farm in the lower south island of New Zealand. It may seem unusual for the NZEHA whose key focus is horses, but we do so because we know that strains of influenza have a tendency towards inflecting multiple species including horses, and thus the importance of eradicating it from the chicken farm and New Zealand.
There is no need to panic about the discovery, with the farm now being under strict biosecurity surviellance, plus the farmer had strong biosecurity practices in places and has done everything right as far as notifying Biosecurity New Zealand about the discovery of sick birds.
What you need to know about the Avian Influenza cases in New Zealand as of 3rd December 2024.
The recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in poultry is the first instance of an outbreak of high pathogenic avian influenza in New Zealand poultry (Prior to this there had been no detection of even low pathogenic avian influenza). The word pathogenic refers to the amount of harm that the virus can cause. Highly pathogenic in the contact of avian influenza means that infection is likely to cause a high proportion of chickens to die.
The Influenza A virus detected in the New Zealand outbreak is a different strain to the H1N5 strain of avian influenza that has been causing a lot of concern worldwide. The H1N5 (not detected in New Zealand) has caused disease in wild birds and infected various mammalian species, including horses.
Fortunately, the strain detected in New Zealand has not been associated with the above characteristics. However, Influenza viruses do have the tendency towards infecting multiple species, and thus the importance of eradicating it from the chicken farm (and New Zealand)
What does this mean for horse owners?
At this stage, not too much, but it is a reminder to remain vigilant with your biosecurity practices and be aware of situations around you and your horses. Furthermore, Biosecurity New Zealand has issued a press release adding, "If anyone sees 3 or more sick or dead wild birds in a group, report it immediately to the exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66 so we can investigate the cause."
