The scientific community mobilizes to respond to emergency news

Cover and title image: Published by the Chilean Antarctic Institute/

Photo credit: Lucas Krueger

They confirm the presence of avian influenza virus in Antarctica

In an unprecedented effort, researchers at the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology, affiliated with the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), confirmed at the end of February the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in discovered bird specimens. Discover. Antarctica is lifeless.

The discovery raises new questions about the spread of disease in one of the most remote and least explored environments on Earth.

The Chilean Antarctic Research Institute (INACH) reported that the virus was found in two samples Dead Skua (also called Brown Skua) Argentinian scientists discovered this near the Primavera Antarctic base on the Antarctic Peninsula.

According to INACH, the samples were transported with the utmost care to The Gabriel de Castilla base in Spain is located on Deception Island, where they performed specific PCR analysis for influenza viruses and H5 subtypes, followed by protease cleavage sequencing, which confirmed the presence of this pathogen 100%.

“Despite its distance and natural barriers from other continents, this is the first time that a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has been confirmed in Antarctica,” Inacchi commented.

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Furthermore, as the Spanish researchers mentioned, this discovery could explain the mass die-offs of birds recorded during the Antarctic summer.

Many teams in several countries, including Chile, have been monitoring the presence of the virus in order to provide early warning of its presence, but until this weekend, no team had demonstrated the presence of the virus variant on the Antarctic continent.

Avian Flu Emergency Expedition

The first one in December last year Urgent expedition to Antarctica to investigate possible bird flu outbreak Among the fauna of the White Continent, the Press of the University of Chile reports that “this phenomenon has alarmed the international community and is being studied by researchers from various units of the University of Chile, together with scientists from the Chilean Antarctic Research Institute (INACH)”. ) and other agencies,” they noted.

Given that a Spanish research team confirmed the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in dead birds in Antarctica, Gonzalo BarrigaProfessor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile and researcher assigned by the Milenio BASE Institute, who is part of the team deployed to monitor the emergency, commented in Prensa UChile that the purpose of the expedition is to “conduct a for early detection and epidemiological surveillance of avian influenza (HPAI) viruses. It is important to note This is a joint effort led by a team of virology and avian specialists to understand the presence and evolution of avian influenza on the frozen continent.

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Academics stress that such research “allows Contribute to decision-making on virus management plans, biosecurity protocols and new knowledge when faced with viruses such as avian influenza”. Together with him, doctoral students in forestry, agriculture and veterinary science are also involved in this task as a support team, Camila Sotoand veterinarian Scarlet Ubedawho collected and analyzed field samples for the Emerging Viruses Laboratory of the Virology Program of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Chile.

This summer, another team from the University of Chile’s Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Sciences (Favet) traveled to Antarctica to respond to the avian influenza emergency.The team is headed by Prof. Victor NellaAn academic in the virology laboratory of the academic unit has received an invitation to participate in an initiative led by the academic unit Dr. Marcelo Gonzalezcurrently Head of the Scientific Department of INACH, whose goal is to Establishing an active surveillance program for this pathogen in Antarctica with the aim of early detection in the region.

Barbara BelazeMaster of Animal and Veterinary Science students, and Benjamin BennettVeterinarians and researchers from the Animal Virology Laboratory of Favet are members of the team, which traveled to Antarctica within the framework of the initiative. The two have been collaborating on the first phase of this work since December at Professor Julio Escudero’s Scientific Base on King George Island. “We are working to collect samples from a variety of marine species that may be susceptible to this influenza variant. Through molecular diagnostics, it is determined whether the virus is present in the area, allowing cooperation in early warning systems,” explains Bárbara Berazay.

Additionally, during March they will join the effort Gabriella Munoz and A beautiful mountain

Two doctoral students in Forestry, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Chile South Campus will continue to collect environmental samples related to animal waste in the first phase. They will also collect direct samples of the species and serum to check for exposure to the virus. “This work will be conducted primarily on penguins because they are easier to handle, live in large populations, and due to their sizeIt is possible to obtain better blood samples than with other small birds or large mammals,” Professor Neira commented in a news publication from the University of Chile.

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