The Ministry of Primary Industries says it is tracking the spread of bird flu after a Texas man contracted the illness from a cow.
MPI's chief veterinary officer Mary van Andel said while humans have contracted the virus off other avian animals, this is the first time the virus had travelled from cattle to human.
"This is the first time we have heard it go from cattle to humans. That's why it is concerning ... This hasn't happened before that we are aware of, what we do know is that humans have been infected from birds in the past, but not from cattle," van Andel told 1News.
Van Andel said that while the strain is not currently found within New Zealand, "we have seen it spread widely over the rest of the world".
"What we've seen over the past year or so is this strain of avian influenza move down South America — it's not a place where it was previously.
"We now have reports that it's been detected in the Antarctic peninsula."
In March, van Andel told RNZ New Zealand needed to be prepared and remain vigilant for any signs of infections.
"What we've seen from this strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza is a difference in how its spreading, in the species that are being infected, and how those species have been affected."
At the time, Department of Conservation's (DOC) technical ecology adviser Bruce McKinlay said it would be difficult to control the disease should it arrive in New Zealand.
DOC said it is trialling a vaccine provided and approved by MPI to assess its safety and efficacy on five native species: kakī or black stilt, takahē, kākāpō, tūturuatu or shore plover and red crowned kākāriki.
The Texas man had contracted the virus from a dairy farm he worked at after contact with an infected cow.
How the cows are getting infected also remains a mystery, but the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the public remains low.
US officials have said the farm worker is recovering from the virus.
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