The Department of Conservation announced yesterday it was set to begin vaccinating some of the country’s most threatened bird species to protect them against a highly virulent strain of H5N1 bird flu, in case it arrives here.
University of Otago evolutionary virologist Prof Jemma Geoghegan said after a trial a couple of years ago, Doc was making the right move.
‘‘They’ve run a trial a year ago on very few birds, selected a few species and only five birds of each species to sort of understand the efficacy and the correct dosage,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s shown that it works on those birds and so now that the virus is ... getting closer, it’s a good move to proactively protect more species.’’
The disease arriving in the country was more a matter of when than if, Prof Geoghegan said.
The bird flu strain was not in New Zealand, but had recently been detected in migratory seabirds in Australia, which was a trigger to start vaccinating some of our most critically endangered birds as a safeguard, Doc said.
About 300 core breeding birds from the five species will be vaccinated. These birds are in captivity or, in the case of kākāpō and takahē, on offshore islands.
Doc senior science adviser and wildlife vet Dr Kate McInnes said it would not be possible to vaccinate all endangered birds if bird flu arrived, but the scheme would focus on those species where two full doses of the vaccine could be safely given to achieve protection.
The work would start this month to avoid the breeding season and give birds time to develop full immunity before spring.
