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(Bloomberg) — New Zealand officials say they have contained an outbreak of bird flu to a single site in the southern region of Otago.
Farms linked to the original site, which tested positive for avian influenza on Dec. 1, have been confirmed as free of the virus after testing on thousands of samples at the end of the full incubation period for the disease, the Ministry for Primary Industries said in a statement Tuesday.
Exports of poultry products worth about NZ$190 million ($107 million) a year were halted after New Zealand confirmed its first case of bird flu on an egg farm operated by Mainland Poultry. Testing at the first property confirmed a high pathogenic H7N6 subtype of avian influenza, not the H5N1 strain causing concern globally.
Officials took about 4,300 samples from 36 flocks across five farms linked to the first property and none returned positive results, the ministry said.
“It is a significant number of tests and gives us confidence that this virus has been contained to just the one property and that we are on track to stamp out this disease,” said Chief Veterinary Officer Mary van Andel.
A clear incubation-period testing will help ongoing discussions with trading partners regarding New Zealand poultry exports, she said. Some products that meet bird flu heat treatment requirements are being exported to Australia.
The ministry will work with Mainland Poultry regarding an appropriate stand-down period for the property once decontamination is complete, and is working closely with the affected farmer on the matter of compensation.
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