Concern after the detection of first cases of avian flu in Antarctica
Responsible for the death of millions of birds since 2021, the H5N1 virus was first detected on the White Continent, where it could wreak havoc among penguin and bird colonies.
Gentoo penguins in the Gerlache Strait, which separates the Palmer Archipelago from the Antarctic Peninsula, January 20, 2024. AFP - JUAN BARRETO
By: Simon Rozé Follow
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These are two bird corpses that cause a lot of uncertainty.
Two skuas, found not far from the Argentine research base Primavera, on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Deaths from avian flu which has decimated bird populations around the world for two years, they indicate that for the first time, the virus has affected the white continent.
“
We are witnessing the beginnings of a serious impact on avian populations in Antarctica
,” explains Thierry Boulinier, CNRS research director at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology in Montpellier.
“
We are not sure of anything yet, but we can expect very strong consequences, especially on the densest colonies.
» This is particularly the case for penguins, which breed in colonies of several thousand individuals.
“
There are also species that nest at much lower densities, but which feed on these penguin populations.
This is the case, for example, of the brown skua, which feeds by predation or on corpses.
This can lead to exposure to diseases
,” explains Thierry Boulinier.
“
The problem is determining how long it will take before we observe transmission to other species like penguins
,”
Antonio
Acalmí, of the Spanish National Research Council, who tested the skua carcasses.
“
I think that will definitely happen.
But you have to watch.
»
Indeed, apart from observing and documenting the unfolding drama, scientists find themselves helpless, without prevention or mitigation measures, especially in a territory as isolated as Antarctica.
“
There are a lot of things to do in terms of research and surveillance
,” says Thierry Boulinier, “
but yes, we are helpless
.”
Research work is nevertheless essential, to understand how the virus spreads: “
Members of my team were on the Falkland Islands where H5N1 arrived this winter.
There are large colonies of black-browed albatrosses and rockhopper penguins.
Mortality affected a few individuals at first, then became greater.
But in some places it didn't explode.
It is not easy to predict what will happen and through which species transmission will occur
,” continues the researcher.
The fears are nevertheless well-founded;
a team of researchers anticipated in an article published last November that if the avian flu virus began to circulate in Antarctic penguin populations, it would constitute one of the most significant ecological disasters of the modern era.
Read alsoClimate: Antarctica is warming faster than expected
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