The Antarctic seal is the latest species to be hit by a virulent strain of avian flu as the virus jumps from birds to wild animals around the world, increasing concerns it will adapt to infect mammals and humans more easily.
The UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency said on Thursday that its experts had detected avian flu in seals and other animals on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, which scientists concluded was most likely introduced by birds migrating from South America.
The spread to mammals of the virulent H5N1 strain, which was first detected in poultry and wild birds in the spring of 2021, has raised concerns that the virus will begin to adapt to mammals, boosting its zoonotic potential to spread to humans.
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