The lethal H5N1 hen flu virus has been detected within the Antarctic for the primary time, resulting in fears concerning the area’s penguin and seal populations.
Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) started testing birds from the area after noting surprising deaths. The virus was recognized in brown skuas on Chook Island, which lies off the northwest nook of South Georgia within the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
It’s believed these massive seabirds contracted the virus in South America, the place H5N1 has resulted within the deaths of lots of of hundreds of seabirds and sea lions in Chile and Peru.
The H5N1 variant, answerable for killing hundreds of thousands of birds since its outbreak in 2021, has alarmed researchers due to its doable impact on distinctive Antarctic species.
Ashley Bennison from BAS expressed their considerations, stating that whereas they are going to preserve monitoring the island’s wildlife, the total repercussions of the hen flu outbreak are nonetheless unknown.
Chook Island is a vital wildlife sanctuary with endangered birds, 50,000 breeding penguin pairs, and 65,000 fur seal pairs. A Scientific Committee on Antarctic Analysis examine highlighted fur seals, sea lions, skuas, gulls, and penguins as essentially the most inclined to the virus.
Following the invention of the virus on Chook Island, most fieldwork involving animals has been halted.
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