First Bird Flu Deaths Reported in Antarctic Penguins

Why It Matters: Penguins are already below strain.

The acquainted black-and-white birds are dealing with quite a few threats, together with local weather change, air pollution and industrial fishing. Three Antarctic penguin species — emperor penguins, southern rockhopper penguins and macaroni penguins — are listed as susceptible or close to threatened.

Before H5N1 arrived within the Antarctic area final fall, extremely pathogenic chicken flu viruses had by no means been documented within the space earlier than. That implies that the penguins are more likely to have little present immunity. And as a result of they breed in massive, crowded colonies, as soon as one penguin is contaminated, the virus may unfold quickly, inflicting mass mortalities. (As the virus unfold by way of South America final 12 months, Chile reported the deaths of 1000’s of Humboldt penguins.)

The extent of the virus’s unfold in Antarctic penguin populations stays unclear.

In the Falkland Islands, some gentoo penguins gave the impression to be sick or torpid, and a small quantity confirmed neurological signs, earlier than they had been discovered useless, Ms. Heathman mentioned. The virus has not but been confirmed in every other native penguin species, she mentioned, however testing of rockhopper penguins is underway.

At least one suspected case has additionally been reported in king penguins in South Georgia, one other British territory, in accordance with the Antarctic Wildlife Health Network, which is a part of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

That report was based mostly on a single useless king penguin, and investigators haven’t seen a spike in penguin deaths at that location, mentioned Laura Willis, the chief govt of the federal government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. “We are monitoring the situation across the islands,” she mentioned.

Background: Scientists have been anxious concerning the unfold of the virus in Antarctica.

The virus, which first emerged in 2020, has taken an unprecedented toll on wild birds and mammals. After the virus was detected on the tip of South America final 12 months, OFFLU, a world community of flu consultants, warned that the pathogen may unfold to Antarctica subsequent.

The Antarctic area offers important breeding territory for greater than 100 million birds in addition to seals, sea lions and different marine mammals. If the virus arrived within the area, its impression on these animals “could be immense,” OFFLU mentioned in a press release final August.

Just two months later, the virus was detected in brown skuas in South Georgia, the primary instances within the area. Since then, infections have been confirmed in quite a few different chicken species, in addition to in elephant and fur seals. These marine mammals additionally breed in massive colonies, they usually suffered main losses because the virus unfold by way of South America, the place tens of 1000’s of seals and sea lions had been reported useless. Scientists fear that the identical destiny might befall Antarctica’s seals because the virus spreads.

Infections haven’t but been reported on the Antarctic mainland, though consultants have mentioned that the virus might already be spreading there undetected.

Links to go deeper: Here’s extra on the chicken flu outbreaks.