Why it issues: The penguins are already below stress.
The acquainted black and white birds face quite a few threats, together with local weather change, air pollution and business fishing. Three species of Antarctic penguins – emperor penguins, skipper penguins and macaroni penguins – are listed as susceptible or close to threatened.
Earlier than H5N1 arrived within the Antarctic area final fall, extremely pathogenic avian influenza viruses had by no means been documented within the space earlier than. Because of this penguins are prone to have little current immunity. And since they breed in giant, crowded colonies, as soon as a penguin is contaminated, the virus may unfold rapidly, inflicting large mortality. (Because the virus unfold to South America final yr, Chile reported the deaths of hundreds of Humboldt penguins.)
The extent of the unfold of the virus in Antarctic penguin populations stays unsure.
Within the Falkland Islands, some gentoo penguins appeared sick or torpid, and a small quantity confirmed neurological signs, earlier than they had been discovered useless, Ms Heathman mentioned. The virus has not but been confirmed in every other native penguin species, he mentioned, however testing of rockhopper penguins is ongoing.
No less than one suspected case has additionally been reported in king penguins in South Georgia, one other British territory, based on the Antarctic Wildlife Well being Community, which is a part of the Antarctic Analysis Scientific Committee.
That report was primarily based on a single useless king penguin, and the researchers didn't see a spike in penguin deaths at that location, mentioned Laura Willis, the chief government of the South Georgia and Georgia authorities. South Sandwich Islands. “We’re monitoring the scenario on all of the islands,” he mentioned.
Background: Scientists have been involved in regards to the unfold of the virus in Antarctica.
The virus, which appeared for the primary time in 2020, has taken an unprecedented toll on birds and wild mammals. After the virus was detected within the tip of South America final yr, OFFLU, a worldwide community of flu specialists, warned that the pathogen may unfold to Antarctica later.
The Antarctic area supplies a important breeding floor for greater than 100 million birds and seals, sea lions and different marine mammals. If the virus entered the area, its impression on these animals “may very well be immense,” OFFLU mentioned in an announcement final August.
Simply two months later, the virus was detected in brown skuas in South Georgia, the primary instances within the area. Since then, infections have been confirmed in lots of different species of birds, in addition to in elephants and ferrets. These marine mammals additionally breed in giant colonies, and have suffered main losses because the virus has unfold to South America, the place tens of hundreds of seals and sea lions have been reported useless. Scientists fear that the identical destiny could befall Antarctic seals because the virus spreads.
Infections haven’t but been reported on the Antarctic continent, though specialists have mentioned the virus could already be spreading there with out being detected.
