WELLINGTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The high pathogenic type of bird flu recently confirmed in a New Zealand egg farm was not H5N1 strain that people are most worried about and would pose low risk for public health, virologists and public health experts said on Wednesday.

The detection of H7N6 at the farm in New Zealand's South Island was not H5N1 strain that has been causing deaths in poultry, wild birds, and mammals worldwide, according to the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Jemma Geoghegan, virologist from the University of Otago, said the H7 subtype, while it has infected humans before, does not spread very easily between them so this is low risk for public health.

Usually the H7 subtype is low pathogenic and is found in wild birds without causing disease. On some rare occasions, these viruses can spill over to poultry and evolve to become high pathogenic where they cause severe disease, she said.

"This is what we saw happen in Australia a few months ago too. With chicken farms in such close proximity to wildlife, these sorts of spillovers are always a risk," Geoghegan said.

Nigel French, distinguished professor of infectious disease epidemiology and public health from Massey University, said rather than importation through migratory wild birds, this is where a low pathogenic strain can develop into a high pathogenic strain and circulate locally in New Zealand wildlife.

French called for raised awareness for avian influenza, whether it is for the globally circulating H5N1 strain, or locally evolved strain. Enditem

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