FoodNZ February issue: How the poultry industry and MPI faced down the avian flu crisis

In early December 2024, an outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of H7N6 avian flu on a north Otago farm meant an immediate and ongoing shutdown of exports of all NZ poultry products, including live chicks. MPI and the industry had been preparing for an outbreak of H5N1, which is even more virulent, and is still in prospect.  For any highly pathogenic strain, the bottom line for industry is the same: a mass cull, weeks of scrupulous sanitisation, and a drastic impact on exports until such time as we can prove that the farm is free of it, which can take months.  Read more (page 24-25) about how industry and MPI have come together to handle the crisis.