Bird flu detected in seals in southern Atlantic for the first time

Bird flu has been detected in fur and elephant seal populations for the first time on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, a team of scientists from the United Kingdom (UK) confirmed on Thursday. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, scientists had first suspected the presence of avian influenza in October last year, after the death of several brown skua seabirds on Bird Island which is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

In December, a large number of elephant seals were found dead. Last month, scientists with Britain's Animal and Plant Health and Agency (APHA) and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) spent three weeks in the affected islands, collecting samples from dead mammals and birds.

The scientists said that the samples tested positive for HPAI H5N1 in elephant seals, fur seals, brown skuas, kelp gulls, and Antarctic terns. “Given Antarctica is such a unique and special biodiversity hotspot it is sad and concerning to see the disease spread to mammals in the region," said APHA scientific services director Ian Brown.

Impact of H5N1 on Antarctic wildlife could be devastating

Reuters reported that as per scientists, the current impact of H5N1 on Anon Antarctic wildlife could be devastating. A report by the OFFLU (a joint OIE-FAO global network of expertise on animal influenzas) said that the virus had the potential to infect 48 species of birds and 26 species of marine mammals.

OFFLU said that thousands of seals and hundreds of thousands of birds congregate in dense colonies in Antarctica which could allow the virus to easily jump between individuals.

Alastair Ward, an ecologist at the University of Leeds, said seals that are known to scavenge, may become infected when they consume infected bird carcasses.

Amid global concern about the virus' spread to imperilled wildlife populations, Alaskan officials confirmed last week the first known case of a polar bear dying of H5N1.

Speaking to Reuters, Andrew Derocher, a polar bear biologist at the University of Alberta, said, "If a bird is weakened by avian influenza, or succumbs to it, polar bears aren't fussy about what eat."

Derocher said that if a bird is dead and it is edible, polar bears will probably eat it. "There is a high likelihood of an interaction between climate change, avian influenza, bird mortality and polar bears," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)