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fullscreen Walruses in the northern Bering Sea. Archive image. Photo: Liz Labunski/Us Fish And Wildlife Via AP/TT
For the first time, a walrus has been found dead from bird flu. The development worries the scientific community, which fears a larger outbreak among marine mammals.
The effects of the virus on many bird species have already been catastrophic.
The walrus in question was found dead on the island of Hopen in the Svalbard archipelago last year. Now tests at a German laboratory have shown the presence of bird flu, say researchers at the Norwegian Polar Institute.
– This is the first time bird flu has been recorded in a walrus, says Christian Lydersen at the institute.
The sample was too small to find out whether it is the type H5N1 or H5N8, the researcher states.
Can infect polar bears
Around six walruses were found dead last year in the Norwegian archipelago, which lies halfway between the Norwegian mainland and the geographic North Pole. It is likely that a few more of them were infected with bird flu, says Lydersen.
Walruses, a seal species that lives in the Arctic and can weigh up to two tons, eat mainly fish and shellfish – but sometimes also seabirds. The researchers express fears that polar bears in Svalbard may consume an infected walrus carcass, which would mean that the virus would spread further.
Research teams will now closely monitor Svalbard’s walruses during the summer months, when the ice melts and the animals tend to gather in larger groups.
Porpoise sick
According to authorities in the United States, a polar bear in Alaska has already died of bird flu. Thousands of marine mammals and millions of birds in South America have also died from the virus, according to scientists in Antarctica.
In Sweden, too, seabirds – including geese, swans and gulls – have been affected. Since 2020, tens of thousands of Swedish domestic birds, mainly chickens, have also been euthanized following outbreaks of bird flu.
In 2022, bird flu was confirmed for the first time in a porpoise, according to the Norwegian Veterinary Institute. The young whale ran aground in Kämpersvik in Bohuslän.
FACT Bird flu
Bird flu is one of the most serious diseases that can affect poultry. But mammals can also be affected.
The disease is caused by the influenza virus, which can cause sudden disease outbreaks with very high mortality.
Some types of virus can infect humans, but this is very rare. In that case, it occurs through close contact with sick birds or their excrement. In Sweden, so far no human has been infected with bird flu.
Bird flu has created major problems for the poultry industry in recent years. The 2020-2021 flu season was the worst ever, with millions of poultry killed as a result. Wild birds are also severely affected, as are several different mammal species.
Bird flu is not considered to be contagious via food.
Source: Swedish Board of Agriculture, Norwegian Veterinary Medical Institute, Public Health Agency.
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