walrus killed by disease in the Arctic, a first for this mammal

Wolfgang Köhler/LightRocket via Getty Images

Walrus on an ice floe in northern Spitsbergen, Norway.

BIRD FLU. A walrus found dead last summer on Norway’s Svalbard Arctic archipelago died of bird flu, a Norwegian researcher said on Monday, April 29, the first recorded case in the mammal.

A sample taken from a walrus lying on Hopen Island, after analysis in a German laboratory, determined that the animal was infected with the virus, said Christian Lydersen, a researcher at the Norwegian Polar Institute. “This is the first time avian influenza has been recorded in a walrus.”, he insisted. The sample collected was too small to determine whether it was the H5N1 or H5N8 subtype.

Last year, half a dozen walruses were reported dead on Spitsbergen, located 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole. “It is possible that some of them also became infected with bird flu”noted Christian Lidersen.

Walruses, which can weigh up to two tons, feed mainly on molluscs, molluscs and crustaceans, but sometimes on seabirds. However, as explained The keeperFrank Wong, molecular microbiologist, avian influenza is “avian-adapted virus”. Therefore, it is very likely that infection and spread of the disease among mammals occurs as a result of animals eating dead infected birds.

Christian Lydersen insisted it was important to monitor the situation as walruses tend to group together as sea ice begins to melt as summer approaches. There is also a risk of infection for polar bears if they feast on the corpse of an infected walrus, the researcher emphasized.

The bird flu epidemic is wreaking havoc again in 2020. According to American authorities, it has already caused the death of a polar bear in Alaska, and in South America hundreds of thousands of marine mammals have died due to this virus. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

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