They confirm bird flu found in penguins near Antarctica

A deadly strain of bird flu has been detected in gentoo penguins for the first time, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) reports, raising concerns that the virus could spread to the Antarctic colony.

According to T13, researchers discovered about 35 dead specimens in the Falkland Islands on January 19. SCAR veterinarian Ralph Vanstriels said samples taken from two dead penguins tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

The deaths confirm that gentoo penguins are susceptible to the highly fatal disease, which has decimated bird populations around the world in recent months. However, Papuans rarely travel between the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina and the Antarctic Peninsula, about 1,300 kilometers to the south.

That means traveling penguins are unlikely to drive the spread of the virus to the southern continent, said UC Davis researcher Van Straels.

“The role that gentoo penguins can play is to serve as a local reservoir of infection, that is, to maintain a pool of susceptible hosts that never leave the island.”