biodiversity
Two elephant seals in South Georgia. Animals on that island near Antarctica have also been infected with avian influenza. — ©getty
The Wildlife Conservation Society is sounding the alarm because the H5N1 avian influenza virus is causing serious deaths in many animal populations. Not only are 150 species of birds infected, but more and more mammals, such as elephant seals, are also dying. “We ask governments to act quickly.”
“With the terrifying deaths of animals around the world due to avian influenza, we call on governments to treat this crisis with the urgency it demands,” said Chris Walzer, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an organization that manages avian influenza. the largest conservation program in the world. He calls for more surveillance and research into new variants of the virus.
According to the WCS, this is the worst outbreak of avian influenza globally since the H5N1 virus emerged in domestic waterfowl in China in 1996. “This virus poses an existential threat to global biodiversity.”
Last year, avian influenza was already widespread among domestic and wild animals. More than 150 bird species worldwide have been infected, as well as dozens of mammal species. In North America, foxes, cougars, skunks, and black and brown bears have already died from the effects of the virus. In December 2023, it was even discovered in Alaska that a polar bear had died of avian influenza.
Near Antarctica
Bird flu has also affected other parts of the world. 700 endangered Caspian seals died near the Russian republic of Dagestan and in October last year the virus was said to have reached South America, where thousands of dead elephant seals have since been found.
“More than 95% of southern elephant seal calves born along 200 miles of the Patagonian coast have died by the end of 2023,” Walzer writes. The previous year, 18,000 puppies had grown up healthy in that region. “The sight of dead or dying elephant seals along the beaches where they breed is apocalyptic.”
Elephant seals are also said to have fallen prey to the disease in South Georgia, an island in the Antarctic region. Scientists fear a further advance of the virus in that area: if the penguin colonies were infected, this could cause millions of victims.
Contagious to humans?
Avian influenza is highly transmissible between animals. The virus spreads through droplets and feces. This spread has been exacerbated by changes in bird migration routes due to global warming and repeated recirculation among poultry. Mink farms in Spain and Finland may also have been a source of transmission.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cases of infection in humans have so far been limited. The H5N1 virus, which now kills many animals, first infected people in Hong Kong in 1997. Since then, several hundred cases of human infection have been reported worldwide. However, the WCS fears that the virus will one day transform into a variant that is easily transmitted from person to person. “We must be vigilant before it is too late and identify emerging strains of the influenza virus around the world.”
2024-01-16 15:45:05
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