Scientists have confirmed the presence of a lethal pressure of fowl flu on mainland Antarctica for the primary time, posing a possible risk to the huge penguin colonies within the southern area.
“This discovery demonstrates for the first time that the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus has reached Antarctica despite the distance and natural barriers that separate it from other continents,” Argentina’s Higher Council for Scientific Investigation (CSIC) mentioned on Sunday.
The presence of the virus was confirmed on Feb. 24 in samples of lifeless skua seabirds, which had been discovered by Argentine scientists close to the Antarctic base Primavera, CSIC added.
The confirmed case on the Antarctic peninsula, coming after instances on islands close by, together with amongst gentoo penguins, highlights the danger to colonies within the area to the H5N1 avian flu that has decimated fowl populations all over the world in current months.
“Analysis has conclusively shown that the birds were infected with the H5 subtype of avian influenza and at least one of the dead birds contained the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus,” CSIC mentioned in a press release.
Hundreds of hundreds of penguins collect in tightly packed colonies on the Antarctic continent and close by islands, which may allow the lethal virus to unfold rapidly.
Data from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research additionally confirmed a now-confirmed case on the analysis base.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
