The first case of a walrus dying from chicken flu has been detected on Hopen Island within the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, Christian Lydersen, senior scientist on the Norwegian Polar Institute advised the Barents Observer on Tuesday, April 30.
According to Lydersen, the samples from the useless walrus had been collected final yr on Svalbard by Håvard Lervik Hansen from The Norwegian Meteorological Institute, who used simply strange q-tips to take samples from the eyes, nostril, and mouth of a useless walrus. The samples had been then despatched by Lydersen’s staff to a lab in Germany, the place the virus was detected.
“Walruses eat birds and last year there were a lot of dead birds in Norway because of the bird flu.”, Christian Lydersen stated and added that there’s a excessive likelihood that another teams of useless walruses additionally might be contaminated with the chicken flu:
“Last year we got several reports from tourists and scientists that they saw around six walruses dead here on the west side of Svalbard. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sample them as the dead walruses drifted away by the time we got to the place. But it’s not normal to get so many reported dead walruses in such a small area. Walruses tend to lie on top of each other. So if one has the bird flu, there is a very good chance that the flu was spread to others.”
The undeniable fact that extra mammals at the moment are dying from what initially was a illness for birds, is a possible hazard for humanity as nicely. While there have already been rare cases of humans becoming infected with the bird flu, the scenario hasn’t escalated to a pandemic but.
“The concerning part is that the bird flu virus has shown the ability to be able to mutate, to go from birds to mammals and has already been found in humans, – Kathrine A. Ryeng, a veterinary scientist from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research told The Barents Observer. “The main concern is that the virus could cause a new pandemic among humans”.
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This may additionally have an effect on one other resident of Svalbard – the polar bear, whose estimated inhabitants on the archipelago is round 3,000. The first case of a polar bear dying of chicken flu has already been registered in Alaska this year.
“Walrus carcasses are normally eaten by polar bears. So potentially the spread of the virus among walruses could be bad for polar bears. But I don’t think there is any point in screaming wolf before the wolf is here”, Christian Lydersen advised the Barents Observer. But anyway, throughout his fieldwork on Svalbard this yr, his staff goes to be on alert and pattern as many useless mammals as potential.
As the tourism season is opening up extra on Svalbard this summer season, there will probably be elevated probabilities that a number of guests on the archipelago will be capable to spot useless animals:
“It’s important for us to tell people that they shouldn’t touch a dead mammal if they see one, and report it to the local authorities as soon as possible”, Christian Lydersen, senior scientist on the Norwegian Polar Institute advised the Barents Observer.
In case you see a useless mammal on Svalbard, you may report it to The Polar Institute of Svalbard or the office of the Governor of Svalbard.
