Abstract Wild migratory birds play a major role in the global spread of viruses, yet the diversity, host range and transmission patterns of viruses harboured by migratory species in Aotearoa/New Zealand remain largely unknown . This knowledge gap is critical given New Zealand's position along major migratory flyways spanning Oceania, Antarctica and east Asia , where understanding viral diversity is key to assessing the risk of viral introductions such as highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and viral dispersal across these regions. To address this, we conducted the first large-scale metatranscriptomic survey of wild birds from New Zealand and its subantarctic islands , collecting 1,348 samples from 31 host species spanning four avian orders . We identified 118 avian viruses from 17 families , including 107 novel species , greatly expanding our knowledge of avian viral diversity. Viral communities differed significantly by host order and foraging behaviour, with scavenger birds...
Media Monitoring for Signals about Emerging Threats