Bird Flu Outbreak: Seals Affected in Sub-Antarctica

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High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), commonly referred to as “bird flu”, has been confirmed in mammals inhabiting South Georgia, a remote island located in the South Atlantic Ocean that is a UK territory.

Bird flu confirmed in dead elephant and fur seals

In October 2023, several brown skua died on Bird Island, which lies off the nort-west tip of South Georgia. This raised suspicions that HPAI had been introduced to this remote area of the world.

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Now, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) – an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the UK – confirms that samples from dead elephant seals, fur seals, kelp gulls and Antarctic terns have tested positive for HPAI H5N1.

What is high pathogenicity avian influenza?

Avian influenza A viruses are categorized as either low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) A viruses, or HPAI A viruses. The latter can cause severe disease and mortality in poultry. Though it is rare for avian influenza A viruses to infect people, five subtypes are known to have caused human infections, including H5 viruses.

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From 2003 to 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) documented 878 cases of HPAI H5N1 infection in humans.

www.technologynetworks.com/immunology/news/bird-flu-strikes-seals-in-sub-antarctica-382771

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