Bird flu kills polar bear in Alaska as illness exhibits no signal of slowing

A polar bear discovered useless in Alaska has grow to be the primary of its species identified to have been killed by hen flu.

The animal was present in Utqiagvik, within the far north of the nation – which has been hit arduous by the present outbreak sweeping the globe.

Several non-bird species have been struck down with the illness since instances in wild birds started hovering two years in the past, together with dolphins, porpoises, seals, foxes and otters across the UK alone.

The virus, also called H5N1, can even infect people, mostly these working with poultry.

‘This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere,’ stated Dr Bob Gerlach, the state’s veterinarian, talking to the Alaska Beacon.

The bear is the primary animal listed by the US Endangered Species Act to die on account of the illness. Polar bears, also called Ursus maritimus, are additionally classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. 

The animals are significantly in danger from local weather change, as a warming Arctic means much less sea ice, which they depend on to hunt and lift their young. They additionally play an important function as the highest predator within the area, holding the meals chain wholesome by consuming different predators akin to seals which, if left unchecked, would have a big impact on fish numbers.

However, with diminishing sea ice, polar bears are additionally turning to different meals sources, and are additionally identified to scavenge.

That seems to be the case right here, with the contaminated bear consuming a useless hen that was carrying the illness.

‘If a bird dies of this, especially if it’s stored in a chilly setting, the virus may be maintained for some time within the setting,’ stated Dr Gerlach.

The prevalence of hen flu in recent years and the unfold to different animals highlights that this outbreak is extra persistent and deadly than earlier instances.

Between November 2022 and April 2023, the UK authorities put all poultry in ‘lockdown’, that means all birds needed to be stored inside to guard them in opposition to the illness.

‘What we’re coping with now could be a situation that we haven’t handled up to now,’ stated Dr Andy Ramey, a wildlife geneticist with the US Geological Survey. 

‘And so there’s no handbook.’

In earlier outbreaks, the virus has largely affected home poultry, with wild birds serving to to unfold the illness however not showing to be drastically affected by it.

However, the present pressure has had a devastating impression on wild populations, together with these already in danger and low in quantity.

‘Across North America, and really around the world, lots of wild birds these days – I mean, thousands of wild birds these days, tens of thousands in some cases – are dying because of these highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses,’ stated Dr Ramey.

Now, because the illness continues to unfold to different animals – together with the primary case in a squirrel present in Arizona final month – it doesn’t seem like receding.

‘The concern [here] is that we don’t know the general extent of what the virus could do within the polar bear species,’ added Dr Gerlach, talking to the New York Times.

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