Less than two months ago, the apocalyptic scenario was already emerging: if the bird flu virus reached the South Pole, there would be mass slaughter. Now that bird flu has been found in the Antarctic region, it seems only a matter of time before it becomes a reality.

Bird flu has not yet reached Antarctica, but scientists have already found the virus on Bird Island, an island in the Antarctic region. The discovery came after birds on the island showed symptoms of the disease and died inexplicably. Researchers of the British Antarctic Survey collects samples from a group of predatory seagulls on the island. The swabs were returned to the UK, after which tests showed that they were indeed infected with bird flu.

The most likely explanation is that predatory gulls brought the virus with them during their migration from Argentina, where bird flu has been circulating widely lately. Because the country is closer to Antarctica than Bird Island, it is very likely that the virus will also reach there, if it is not already there. And that can have important consequences. The birds in that area live so close together that the virus can spread like wildfire and cause the death of many animals. But in addition to many deaths within species, entire species of animals are also at risk, environmentalists warn. Emperor and Adélie penguins, for example, are only found in that area.

Pandemic
As the name suggests, bird flu primarily affects birds, but it can also infect mammals. Often because predators and scavengers eat the infected birds or their remains. People who are in close contact with birds, such as poultry farmers, can also become infected, although the chance is very small. However, scientists are not confident that humans will not also get their turn on a large scale. The more infections there are among mammals, the faster the virus can adapt through mutations to make it easier to infect humans. At the moment, cases of human infection are rare, but if the virus adapts in such a way that it can also be transmitted from person to person, a new pandemic could quickly emerge, researchers fear.

And it seems that at the moment there is very little that can be done about it. In the event of an outbreak of the virus in chicken coops, the animals are slaughtered to prevent further outbreaks. On the other hand, the spread in nature cannot be prevented.