First bird flu deaths reported in Antarctic penguins
Why it matters: Penguins are already under pressure.
The famous black and white birds face numerous threats, including climate change, pollution and commercial fishing. Three Antarctic penguin species – emperor penguins, southern rockhopper penguins and macaroni penguins – are considered vulnerable or near threatened.
Before H5N1 arrived in the Antarctic last fall, highly pathogenic bird flu viruses had never before been documented in the area. That means the penguins likely have little existing immunity. And because they breed in large, densely populated colonies, once one penguin is infected, the virus can spread quickly, leading to mass mortality. (As the virus spread through South America last year, Chile reported the deaths of thousands of Humboldt penguins.)
The extent of the virus' spread among Antarctic penguin populations remains unclear and cases in king penguins have not yet been confirmed.
“We have no conclusive evidence that king penguin populations in South Georgia have been affected by the virus,” Laura Willis, the chief executive of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, said in an email. “We are monitoring the situation on the islands and are taking a precautionary approach, including closing some locations to allow for further investigation.”
Background: Scientists are concerned about the spread of the virus in Antarctica.
The virus, which first emerged in 2020, has taken an unprecedented toll on wild birds and mammals. After the virus was discovered at the tip of South America last year, EXLUa global network of flu experts, warned that the pathogen could then spread to Antarctica.
The Antarctic region provides an important breeding ground for more than 100 million birds, as well as seals, sea lions and other marine mammals. If the virus were to arrive in the region, the impact on those animals “could be enormous,” OFFLU said in a statement last August.
Just two months later, the virus was discovered in brown hunters in South Georgia, the first cases in the region. Since then, infections have been confirmed in many other bird species, as well as elephants and fur seals. These marine mammals also breed in large colonies, and they suffered major losses as the virus spread through South America, where tens of thousands of seals and sea lions were reported dead. Scientists fear the same fate will befall Antarctica's seals as the virus spreads.
No infections have yet been reported on the Antarctic mainland, although experts say the virus may already be spreading unnoticed there.