By Dan Moskovitz (He/Him)
The avian pandemic bird flu has gone worldwide over the past few years, leaving millions of dead birds and mammals in its wake. It has not yet landed in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific.
This means Australasia has been given a vital grace period for disease preparation. Leading the preparation efforts is the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) Australasia. Currently, their main work involves helping zoos create biosecurity plans.
“Biosecurity plans can include a lot of things, but at this stage, it’ll be mainly about mapping out any areas of risk such as waterways or wetlands near zoos,” says Helen Church, communications manager at the ZAA.
“These can also include the sources of food for the animals and whether there are wild animals around the zoo.
“Bird flu often spreads via feathers, droppings, or contact with wild birds. So something we’re really focusing on is keeping our aviaries safe by building barriers; the virus can’t spread through thick meshes or plastic. In more severe cases, we might move an animal undercover so it’s in less contact with wildlife.”
One of the ZAA’s key priorities is conserving threatened species. As such, Church says the ZAA is watching DoC’s vaccine trial with interest. While wide-scale vaccination of wild birds is impossible, it could protect small populations under intensive management—which is exactly what a zoo provides.
If wild bird populations were to crater as a result of a pandemic, zoo populations could serve as a potential source of genetic diversity. Still, don’t expect any imminent announcements. DoC’s vaccine trial, while showing initial promise, has a year left to run before DoC can claim success. In addition, any vaccinations would need the Ministry of Primary Industries’ approval. Routine usage of bird flu vaccines is usually prohibited because this complicates disease detection (DoC got a special permit for the trial).
Notably, birds taken to wildlife hospitals showing symptoms must be euthanized. However, when asked if the same was true for zoo birds, Church said it would depend on the species.
“Some species can recover from bird flu. Others we've seen basically have a 100% mortality rate,” said Church.
“What we're making sure of is that all of our zoos have strong biosecurity at their wildlife hospitals and in their aviaries, so any birds brought to a wildlife hospital won't be putting other animals at risk regardless of whether they're positive for bird flu.”
If you encounter a bird showing symptoms of avian influenza, please take a video and call Biosecurity New Zealand on their hotline: 0800 80 99 66.
Symptoms include falling over, twisting their neck to look upwards, lethargy, and drooping heads. Finding three or more dead birds in one area is also a reason to contact Biosecurity.
Transmission of bird flu to humans is uncommon but not impossible. However, its mortality rate in humans is 52%. Do not touch any bird showing symptoms.