Bird flu appears in Antarctica for the first time

AFP news agency on October 25 quoted British experts as saying that bird flu was discovered for the first time in the Antarctic region, leading to concerns that the deadly virus could threaten penguins and other native species.

Scientists have previously feared that the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus would spread to Antarctica, an important breeding ground for many bird species.

The British Antarctic Survey said staff took samples from brown seabirds (Stercorarius antarcticus) after they died on Bird Island in South Georgia, a British overseas territory east of the southern tip of South America and north of the main Antarctic landmass.

Samples sent to the UK for testing all tested positive for bird flu. Experts believe the virus was likely spread by birds returning from migration to South America, where there have been many cases of bird flu.

Visitors to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are subject to increased biosecurity measures and scientific field work involving birds there has been halted.

Avian influenza outbreaks have occurred frequently since the virus was first discovered in 1996.

Since mid-2021, large-scale outbreaks have begun to spread south to previously unaffected areas including South America, leading to mass deaths of wild birds and the culling of tens of millions of poultry.

Cases of avian influenza in humans are rare, and those that do occur are usually due to direct contact with infected poultry.

In early October, Cambodia recorded the death of two children due to bird flu. This is the third death due to bird flu recorded in the country this year.

The virus is increasingly being detected in mammals, raising concerns that it could mutate into a version that is more easily transmitted from person to person.

Minh Hoa (reported by Thanh Nien, Vietnam+)

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