Below outlines a question/answer session regarding bird flu and its threat to kiwi with Paul Jansen, head of the Bank of New Zealand Kiwi Recovery Group.

About bird flu
Since late 2003, the H5N1 strain of avian flu has killed more than 100 people and in recent weeks has spread with alarming speed into Africa, Europe and Asia.

It has killed or led to the culling of some 200 million birds globally.

Q. Is it all hype or is this really a threat to kiwi?
PJ. Flightless birds such as ostriches and emu, that are in the same family as the kiwi are highly vulnerable to this strain. If it reaches Australian birds we will take action in New Zealand to protect kiwi.

Q. How would kiwi get the disease? 
PJ It is likely they would be infected by other birds moving into kiwi habitat rather than by infected humans.

Q. What is the plan for kiwi?
PJ. The plan is to vaccinate all kiwi in captivity and kiwi in the wild that are wearing transmitters before the virus reaches New Zealand.  DOC is currently working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s bio security staff to import the vaccine, and determine exactly when it would be used.  A "die-off" of 80 percent of kiwi "would be catastrophic so we have to make sure we have some gene stock that is bullet proof to these nasty viruses that are out there.

Q. When would you vaccinate?
PJ. The arrival of the disease in Australia could be the trigger point for vaccination here as this is the most likely route for the arrival of the disease to NZ in the bird form.

Q. What is the worst-case scenario for kiwi? Could it wipe them out completely?
PJ. New Zealand's 75,000 remaining kiwi likely would suffer "a high rate of mortality" if H5N1 bird flu reaches New Zealand. Endemic species (those that only occur in NZ) are more vulnerable to disease because they have never been exposed to foreign diseases.
New Zealand birds ... are far more naive than a lot of (species) that are on continents which have had huge waves of diseases go through them over the millennia.
Q. Are there any cases of bird flu in New Zealand?
PJ. Not at this time but we are treating this issue as exceptionally urgent considering the rapid rate at which it is spreading through other countries.