The first cases of bird flu have been detected in seabirds in the Antarctic, according to the British Antarctic Survey, raising fears the disease will spread rapidly through dense colonies of birds and mammals.
“Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been confirmed in brown skua populations on Bird Island, South Georgia – the first known cases in the Antarctic region,” the British Antarctic Survey said in a statement Monday. South Georgia is part of the British overseas territory east of South America’s tip and just above Antarctica’s main landmass. The British Antarctic Survey believes the birds carried the disease on their return from migration to South America.
” Bird flu is caused by infections that occur naturally among wild aquatic birds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infected birds can transmit the virus to other animals through their saliva and other bodily discharges. Antarctica and its offshore islands are home to “more than 100 million breeding birds, six species of pinnipeds and 17 species of cetaceans,” according to OFFLU, which warns of the possibility of “efficient virus transmission” in the region.
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