‘We leave [it] slip through our fingers

With Antarctica added to the list, bird flu has officially wreaked havoc on every continent except Oceania. That disturbing news was confirmed by a recent study led by Erasmus MC in the Netherlands and the University of California, Davis.

What’s going on?

A team of researchers has conclusively shown that more than 50 skuas in Antarctica died during the summers of 2023 and 2024 due to the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus. They published the study in the journal Scientific Reports and contextualized its findings in a news release.

Skuas are relatives of seagulls and play an important role in frigid environments. They act as scavengers in the ecosystem, which means that contagious skuas can spread bird flu far and wide.

During an expedition to the South Shetland Islands, the northern Weddell Sea, and the Antarctic Peninsula, the team tested samples of wild animals, and confirmed H5N1 at all sites. While bird flu had previously been found there, this study was the first to confirm the virus as the cause of animal death.

While other animals, such as fur seals, have had the virus, their deaths have not been linked to it.

“As the expedition progressed, it quickly became obvious that skuas were a major victim,” said UC Davis senior co-author Ralph Vanstreels.

Vanstreels painted a morbid picture of a “crisis in animal suffering” with the virus causing birds to fall out of the air, swim and walk aimlessly as the virus attacks their brains.

Why is the spread of bird flu important?

H5N1 was first identified on a Chinese goose farm in 1996 and has since spread globally in a pattern that baffles researchers.

“We let the virus slip through our fingers when it first emerged in the poultry industry,” said senior corresponding author Thijs Kuiken of Erasmus MC. “Once it entered wild bird populations, we lost the ability to control this virus.”

Bird flu has now hit almost every corner of the world with detrimental effects. In the United States, mega-farms have been exposed to it, with impacts affecting humans and animals alike. The virus is showing itself to be very adaptive and able to change when its host is human or cattle.

There is also concern that cats can spread the virus to humans on a large scale.

Closer to the study, a decimation of the skua population could mean more trouble for the already threatened Antarctic region. There are concerns that it could infect the penguins in the future.

What is being done about bird flu in Antarctica?

The researchers called for improved global surveillance and preventive measures to better track bird flu in Antarctica.

“Everything points to this virus spreading further,” concluded Kuiken. “If nobody’s watching, we won’t know what’s going on.”

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