South Georgia reopens for tourism after no bird flu detected in penguin colony — MercoPress

South Georgia reopens for tourism after bird flu not detected in penguin colony

South Georgia Executive Director Laura Sinclair Willis declares bird flu endemic

The government of South Georgia has cautiously reopened tourist access to a site where the famous king penguins can be seen, after a survey showed that the mortality rate was no higher than normal or baseline and there was no evidence of infection from South Georgia.terrible bird flu

Picturesque Fortuna Bay is home to tens of thousands of pairs of king penguins and numerous other marine animals, according to a statement from Laura Sinclair Willis, executive director of the Government of South Georgia. , is a true paradise. Photographers.

“We have found no evidence of pathogenic avian influenza and although there have been reports of some penguin deaths, they are not related to avian influenza, which is why the decision has been taken to reopen the site to visitors, out of an abundance of caution, it is an experience we are looking forward to.” Being able to repeat this where other tourists disembark,” Ms Wallis said.

“But to be clear, there are no changes to our policy on how we evaluate different sites, so those sites can be opened, closed, reopened, and everything depends on what happens at other sites as well.”

All sites in South Georgia are at level one, where they are potentially vulnerable to infection, with some at level two, where they are temporarily closed to allow investigations, and level three, where they are potentially infected. Permanently closed for the remainder of the southern summer.

“What we will do at the end of the season is contact the tourism industry and everyone interested in traveling to the island to assess how we should deal with the avian flu issue in the next season. We believe, I believe, that avian flu will be with us for a while. “Time, if we use the lessons of what’s happening in the northern hemisphere, we can learn how to deal with a disease that is sure to be endemic for at least a while,” the directive concluded, a few years ago, by Ms. Willis of South Georgia.