Antarctic penguins at danger from international spread of bird influenza

By RNZ

Work is being done to put in location safeguards to safeguard Antarctic penguins from the existing bird influenza stress making its method worldwide today.

There are issues that the distinct nests of penguins in Antarctica will be susceptible to H5N1, the extremely infectious bird influenza, through migratory birds such as the skua.

Waikato University Professor Craig Cary has actually been blazing a trail in the battle to restrict the prospective damage the infection might cause on already delicate nests.

While bird influenza has actually been generally a northern hemisphere issue that has actually been around given that 2004, it was now moving south, he said.

In Aotearoa, there has actually been a tracking program for it in location for a long time.

“The recent models and the migration of this version of the avian flu to the south is now demonstrating that it may cross the Southern Ocean and enter into the Antarctic continent, which would be potentially devastating for the penguin colonies down there.”

Avian influenza was spreading out amongst a number of bird types however the primary issue was with the waterfowl and, in specific, coastline birds and those that moved a cross country, such as skua, petrels and terns, which hung around in the northern hemisphere and after that flew to the southern hemisphere and on to Antarctica.

“These are the ones that are probably the most problematic for us.”

Cary looked out to the prospective issue last July after checking out a report from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research working group, which concluded bird influenza may reach the Antarctic throughout the 2022-23 season.

He notified appropriate groups both in New Zealand and the Antarctic since there were significant penguin nests in the Ross Sea area.

As part of the authorities’ reaction, in November he took a trip to the Antarctic and invested 10 days at the biggest adelie penguin nest so he might start a standard research study on whether bird influenza had actually gotten here.

“Right now it’s moved down into Chile, we know it’s in Australia, we also know it’s in South Africa.

“I think it’s just inevitable it will get down there.”

Some vaccines were being utilized, primarily in the poultry market, while others were being established that may help avoid the infection from dispersing.

“Obviously administering them to a million birds is a huge task and I think that should be something that should be considered.”

He said while the African penguins (in South Africa) have actually been impacted, there were no recorded cases up until now in the adelie or gentoo penguins in Antarctica.

“The potential is it would move to them just as it did for the African penguin.”

The primary form of transmission amongst adelies would be their propensity to poo near their nests and their routine of walking through other adelies’ poo while going to feed.

“There’s so many birds in these colonies. They’re packed literally right next to each other – the chance of it spreading is quite high.”

There had actually been significant bird die-offs in northern England, he said, and the worry was that it would be duplicated in the Antarctic.

“I think the majority of them would die. It depends upon how the spread occurs in the colony and when it occurs in the colony.”

If they left the Antarctic it would reduce the infection’ effect, however the worst circumstance would be if the infection got here while the birds were breeding their eggs then raising their chicks, and when the birds from the northern hemisphere existed.

That would be when the penguins were “in their densest and most vulnerable position”.

Governments and the nationwide Antarctic programs required to get together; otherwise, there was the prospective to lose whole penguin nests in a couple of seasons.

That was why he pressed to get a standard account of the existing state of the nests and tracking would require to continue, he said.

More required to be done however up until now there had actually not been a collaborated effort on a reaction.

– RNZ