Tests confirmed the H7N6 subtype of bird flu at a rural chicken farm in the Otago region, Biosecurity New Zealand said in a statement. It is different to the H5N1 strain that has spread globally and raised fears of human transmission.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected at a poultry farm in New Zealand's South Island, authorities said on Monday, the first time the island nation has reported a highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza.

The Biosecurity Minister has also confirmed the farm at the centre of the outbreak had an outbreak of another virus in 2019.