Detected in hunters: bird flu reaches the Antarctic mainland

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The bird was discovered near Argentina’s Primavera base on the Antarctic Peninsula and subsequently examined by scientists from Spain’s Gabriel de Castilla research station. “This discovery shows for the first time that the highly pathogenic bird flu virus reached Antarctica despite distance and natural barriers,” the institute said in a statement. Bird flu had already been detected on islands off the coast.

Researchers are now concerned about Antarctica’s wildlife, especially its penguin colonies. “Penguins nest very close together and if the virus enters the colonies, it can spread very quickly,” British researchers write in a recently published preliminary publication of a scientific study on the spread of H5N1 in the Antarctic region. “If the virus causes mass extinctions of penguin colonies, it could be one of the greatest ecological catastrophes of modern times.”

The largest wave of bird flu ever documented is currently raging across several continents. The pathogen mainly affects birds, but has also been found in various mammals. In South America, thousands of seals and sea lions have already fallen victim to the virus. About a month ago, two cases were recorded among gentoo penguins in the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.

“The effects in penguins can be very different, neurological and respiratory,” says Juliana Vianna of the Chilean research institute Milenio Base on the radio station Bío Bío. “The virus causes high mortality, which varies from species to species due to genetic diversity. Some can resist the virus, others die.”

(SDA)

Source: Blick