Previous outbreaks have proven that penguins are extremely vulnerable to the illness
One king penguin is suspected to have died from hen flu on South Georgia island within the Antarctic area, Guardian reported. If confirmed, will probably be the primary of the species killed by the extremely contagious H5N1 virus within the wild.
Researchers have expressed issues concerning the probably devastating influence of the illness on distant penguin populations highlighting that the present breeding season might enable the virus to unfold quickly and trigger ”one of many largest ecological disasters of recent instances.”
The Antarctic was the one main geographical area during which excessive pathogenicity avian influenza virus had by no means beforehand been detected. Birds equivalent to penguins which have by no means earlier than been uncovered to the virus would haven’t any prior immunity, probably making them extra vulnerable.
King penguins, the second-largest penguin species on the planet, at about 3 ft tall, can stay for greater than 20 years within the wild. Apart from the king penguin, a gentoo penguin additionally died from H5N1 on the identical location. Another gentoo penguin has been confirmed to have died from H5N1 on the Falkland Islands, 900 miles (1,500km) west of South Georgia
Previous outbreaks in South Africa, Chile, and Argentina have proven that penguins are extremely vulnerable to the illness, as over 500,000 seabirds in South America, together with penguins, pelicans, and boobies have died from it.
Ed Hutchinson, a molecular virologist on the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, mentioned: ”The arrival of this H5N1 virus within the Antarctic in direction of the tip of final yr rang alarm bells due to the danger it posed to wildlife on this fragile ecosystem. And whereas it is extremely unhappy to listen to reviews of penguins dying … it’s sadly in no way shocking.”
Diana Bell, emeritus professor of conservation biology on the University of East Anglia, additionally voiced comparable fears. She mentioned, ”I’m simply devastated, actually – as will everyone who cares about penguins and the Antarctic … Given their colonial social organisation, you’d simply surprise how rapidly it could undergo the colonies.”
The menace of avian flu provides to the prevailing pressures confronted by pristine polar ecosystems. A examine from 2018 predicted that king penguins in Antarctica might face extinction by the tip of this century.
A couple of weeks again, a polar bear additionally died from H5N1, marking the primary recorded case of this species. The bear was found in Utqiagvik, an space that is been hit arduous by the present world outbreak. Polar bears are categorized as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) crimson record of endangered species, primarily on account of the diminishing sea ice.
The virus additionally poses a menace to people, significantly these involved with poultry.
