Avian influenza found in elephant and fur seals on South Georgia

Experts from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which is based in Addlestone, Surrey, England, United Kingdom, detected High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in elephant and fur seals on the island of South Georgia. This was confirmed for the first time on January 11, 2024 by the government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, U.K.

APHA scientists testing for #BirdFlu on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia have detected the virus in fur and elephant seals for the first time in the region.

Results will be shared with partners to help tackle the disease globally. Read more: https://t.co/8vu7RXeuHw pic.twitter.com/VAxJefaxz5

— APHA (@APHAgovuk) January 11, 2024

HPAI

Since 1963, Bird Island, South Georgia has been a station for Antarctic research. Currently, the island is a biological research station of the British Antarctic Survey.

The most well-known HPAI strain H5N1 has low pathogenic strains found in North America. In 1996, it was first isolated from a farmed goose in Guangdong, China.

In October 2023, HPAI was first suspected on Bird Island after the deaths of several brown skua. Migratory bird movement from South America most likely introduced the virus based on sequence analysis from infected birds.

Dr. Marco Falchieri, an APHA scientist, collected samples from dead mammals in the sub-Antarctic region. The samples tested positive for HPAI H5N1 in elephant seals, fur seals, brown skuas, kelp gulls and Antarctic terns while the samples collected from albatross and giant petrel colonies on Bird Island tested negative.

South Georgia

Situated approximately 1,400 kilometers east of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, South Georgia is a remote, mountainous island forming part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Covering about 3,755 square kilometers, the heavily glaciated landmass features dramatic fjords, alpine peaks rising to Mount Paget, and vast coastal plains.

First sighted and charted in January 1775, the island was claimed for His Britannic Majesty King George III by Captain James Cook. It subsequently served as a major center for the global sealing and whaling industries throughout the 20th century. Abandoned Norwegian whaling stations, such as the historic settlement at Grytviken, still line the sheltered northern bays. Today, Grytviken houses the South Georgia Museum and the grave of famed polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Lacking a native human population, South Georgia is governed by a small team of British Antarctic Survey scientists, government officers, and support staff based at King Edward Point and Bird Island. The island functions as one of the world’s most significant wildlife sanctuaries, hosting millions of breeding king penguins, wandering albatrosses, elephant seals, and fur seals.

Recognized globally for its marine conservation efforts, South Georgia draws eco-tourists and researchers to its pristine polar ecosystems each Antarctic summer. Lying in the path of large icebergs drifting northward from Antarctica, the island was declared free of invasive rodents in 2018.