The animal likely contracted the disease after feeding on infected bird carcass
Photo for representation: iStock The first case of the death of a polar bear due to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been reported from the Arctic region, government officials confirmed.
The bear was found dead in October near Utqiagvik in Alaska's northernmost community, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Polar bears endemic to the region are listed as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species for its loss of habitat — sea ice.
The HPAI cade 2.3.4.4b has been circulating across the globe killing millions of birds and mammals.
HPAI was first detected in the Arctic region in the second week of April 2023 among birds and a fox. Within two months, it was reported in a non-commercial backyard flock of chickens and ducks in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. It is suspected the virus travelled in the region via migratory birds.
In these two months, it reportedly spread across different parts of the region as well as bird species such as bald eagles in Unalaska (in the Aleutian Islands) and Canada geese in the Anchorage area and Delta junction.
Read more: H5N1 bird flu could wipe out thousands of penguins across Antarctica
The death of the polar bear was confirmed in December 2023, after the samples of polar bear tissues collected in October showed presence of the virus.
Speaking with news website Alaska Beacon, a veterinarian from Alaska state, Bob Gerlach, said, “This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere.”
The bear is suspected to have contracted the disease after feeding on the carcass of an infected bird. Viruses tend to live longer on dead animals due to cold conditions, scientists said.
“While polar bears normally eat seals they hunt from the sea ice, it appears likely that this bear was scavenging on dead birds and ingested the influenza virus that way,” Gerlach told Alaska Beacon.
Numerous birds on the North Slope of various species have died from this avian influenza, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
The veterinarian said he suspected more bears have fallen prey to the disease but went unnoticed as they live in remote places with the presence of few people around.
First reported in poultry, the HPAI outbreak of variant H5N1 started in 2021 after it spread rapidly among wild bird populations and spread to different parts of the world.
In October 2023, it was reported to have reached the Antarctic region with infection found among brown skua on the bird islands of Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Read more: First cases of avian flu found in Antarctic region
Scientists keeping close watch on the spread of infection in Antarctica assessed that during austral (Southern Hemisphere) spring, the contagion will spread in the dense populations of penguins in the peninsular region.
If the virus happens to reach, it may lead to one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times, they warned.
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