Scientists believe that once transmitted, the flu in Antarctica will be hard to contain due to challenges in testing
According to new reports, a lethal strain of bird flu could wipe out thousands of penguins across Antarctica. The H5N1 strain is expected to surface in the coming weeks as birds migrate to breeding sites in the Antarctic.
The new discovery was made by British experts who analysed the deaths of skuas, a scavenging bird in South Georgia. H5N1 has been classified as a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
The first reported outbreak of the strain in humans occurred in Hong Kong in 1997. Since then, it has been spreading worldwide. According to the journal Nature, the current outbreak has been caused by a deadly form of the H5N1 sub-type.
The strain first emerged in Europe in 2020 and has spread fast to a number of countries. In 2022, The virus was first detected in South America. It then went on to spread rapidly from Colombia to Chile in just three months.
According to a new report by the OFFLU, a global network of flu experts, Chile and Peru alone have since lost more than 500,000 wild birds of at least 65 species.
South Georgia, the place where dead skuas are found, is also home to several migratory birds including albatrosses and gentoo penguins. Experts now fear the possibility of bird flu transmission to these birds through faeces or direct contact.
According to reports in the Telegraph, Antarctica has never had an outbreak of bird flu before. So the immunity of its residents is very low and an unexpected hit of bird flu could result in an exceptional amount of deaths, as the continent is the breeding ground of more than 100 million birds.
As the climate keeps warming, potential new diseases are entering Antarctica’s horizon. Although the disease predominantly spreads among birds, it has been shown to infect mammals too, including seals and sea lions.
Scientists believe that once transmitted, the flu in Antarctica will be hard to contain due to challenges in testing.
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