Bird flu has appeared in Antarctica

Fears that avian flu could spread in this cold land when the highly virulent H5N1 virus was first found in the carcasses of pirate birds here.

According to The Guardian, the bodies of two pirate birds were found by Argentine scientists near Primavera Base, Argentina's scientific research station on the Antarctic peninsula, on February 23.

They sent scientists from the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology (based in Madrid) working in Antarctica.

The H5N1 virus was discovered on the carcass of a brown robin, and there is concern that it could spread to penguins. (Illustration photo: Alamy).

Previous outbreaks in South Africa, Chile and Argentina showed that penguins are susceptible to the virus . Since H5N1 appeared in South America, more than 500,000 seabirds have died from the disease, with penguins, pelicans and ospreys among the worst affected.

In an unpublished paper dated November 2023, the researcher wrote: "If the virus begins to cause mass deaths in penguin colonies, it could herald one of the world's greatest biological disasters. greatest state of modern times".

According to data from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, other suspected cases have been reported in brown robins, southern polar robins, and Hope Bay kelp gulls, also on the peninsula. Antarctic.

A Spanish government report on February 25 said the discovery proved for the first time that a highly pathogenic bird flu virus had reached Antarctica, despite the distance and natural barriers separating it. with other continents.

These are the first confirmed cases on the continent itself, suggesting the virus is spreading in the region, most likely through migratory birds.

Scientists also say there are many reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) affecting several species in the Antarctic region this season. However, many cases may not have been discovered on the Antarctic continent until now because accessing and sampling wildlife here is quite difficult.

This H5N1 outbreak is believed to have killed millions of wild birds globally since 2021 and has spread to every continent except Oceania.

Bird flu spread to the region near Antarctica last October, with cases detected in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (about 1,600km from mainland Antarctica) and the Falkland Islands (about 1,600km from South Georgia). 966km).

Initially, this virus was reported in birds such as gulls, robins and terns, then albatross, penguins. It has also spread to mammals in Antarctica , with mass deaths of elephant seals and fur seals.

The virus is also spreading through wildlife populations in the Arctic. In December, the first polar bear died from H5N1.