Bird flu arrives in Antarctic for first time threatening its isolated animal life

Avian flu has reached the Antarctic, raising concerns for isolated populations of penguins and seals that have never been exposed to the deadly H5N1 virus before.

Scientists are raising concerns about possible “catastrophic breeding failure” of the region’s fragile wildlife populations and “devastating impact on many wildlife species”.

The current outbreak of the highly infectious variant of H5N1 – which started in 2021 – is estimated to have killed millions of wild birds.

A risk assessment published by Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research says fur seals, sea lions, skuas and gulls are the most at risk, followed by penguins, birds of prey, sheathbills and giant petrels.