A dead polar bear was discovered at the Alaska’s North Slope is the first of the species to have been killed by highly pathogenic avian virus that has been spreading to species of animals around the world.
A polar bear died in the Arctic. discovered dead in October close to Utqiagvik the northernmost community according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation announced..
The detection of the virus in tissue of the animal’s body, an procedure that required a sample and analysis conducted by North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management and other organizations and other agencies, was confirmed earlier in the month the highly pathogenic nature of avian influenza was the main cause of the death, according to the Dr. Bob Gerlach, Alaska’s state veterinarian.
“This marks the first case of polar bears ever reported anyplace,” Gerlach said. This is why they reported it to World Organisation for Animal Health and has received attention from other Arctic countries that have the polar bears.
It was also the very first Endangered species listed under the Species Act in Alaska which was found to be susceptible of the illness. Polar bears, who depend on sea ice, which is declining due to climate changes are classified as endangered in the year 2008.
Polar bears are known to consume seals, which they hunt off their ice-covered seas, it’s probable that the bear may have been eating on dead birds and ingestion of the influenza virus in this way, according to Gerlach. A number of birds living on the North Slope of various species have died due to this virus that affects avian species as per the Department of Environmental Conservation.
The bear, however, must not directly eat an infected bird to been ill, Gerlach said.
“If birds die from this, particularly if it’s located in cold climate the virus could be kept for a long time in the surrounding environment,” he said.
The polar bear’s death is a clear indication of the remarkable persistence and deadly hold this highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has on wild animal populations for two years after it was introduced to North America, officials declared.
“What we’re facing this moment is a situation we’ve never previously dealt with. So there’s no guidance,” said Andy Ramey an U.S. Geological Survey wildlife geneticist and expert on avian influenza.
No longer a purely poultry issue
Highly pathogenic avian flu is named that way because it is a rapid spread within flocks of domestic poultry and can require massive culls to manage the outbreaks. The spread of these outbreaks has been a source of some concern in the past because of their economic impact on the global agricultural sector. Up until recently, wild animals were considered to be a distant thought. Although they were known to carry virus and transfer them across domestic flocks of poultry but they were generally in a state of non-affect.
This has drastically changed. The previous U.S. outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu, during 2014-15, led to several wild bird illnesses as well as some influenza-related bird deaths were reported in Europe soon afterward. However, the current version is regarded as to be the first time in its impact on wild birds as well as other wildlife.
“Across North America, and across the globe many wild birds are dying these days. I’m talking about many thousands of bird species and even tens of thousands in some instances — are dying due to the highly pathogenic avian flu virus,” Ramey said.
The deaths cause a lot of significance when they occur within populations that are already in danger, he explained. One of the most extreme examples he mentioned is the threatened California condors with only 100 or so. After 21 influenza-related deaths were recorded in the federal wildlife department, officials began what is expected to be a complex vaccine program within that population.
The disease also caused the death of a number of mammals all over the world.
In Alaska Three foxes three black bears and brown bears have died from the avian flu. In other parts of the world, more bears have been killed after contracting the virus, in addition to mountain lions, and huge numbers of seals in the eastern part of Canada as well as off coastlines in Maine as well as Washington state and outside from North America. The country’s first report of the virus in squirrels was reported earlier in the month by the state of Arizona.
To Gerlach Gerlach, the situation with polar bears was not a surprise, given the fact that brown and black bears have both died. There is a chance that additional Polar bears have died from the disease however, in places far from the reach of anyone who would be able to observe the event, he explained.
“You’re truly dependent upon the general public in the open, as well as on the wildlife biologists who are conducting monitoring,” the expert said. The documentation of cases in any wild mammal species can be a challenge, he said: “How long is a carcass expected to stay out in nature before it’s consumed or scavenged by something other?”
In addition to the huge and extensive death toll that has been recorded in the wild The current outbreak also has certain other characteristics, including its longevity, as evident in the fact that it has remained away of domestic animals.
The virus which was responsible for the 2014-15 epidemic grew within the wild bird populations for a time but then it “sort sort of died out,” Ramey said, likely because it was eradicated in poultry farms.
This one is still be a part of natural habitat, as shown by the monitoring carried out in Western Alaska, a place away from large farms that raise turkeys or chickens He said.
Gerlach offered the same opinion. “After this year’s second, it suddenly vanished,” he said of the 2014-15 version. “It did not stay around and this one seems to be lingering.”
Instead of waning and waning, it continues to grow throughout the world and even in bird populations within Antarctica which was recently recorded. There are indications that it’s now an issue on the open plains and will remain a permanent feature in the near future, he added. If it is, “it’s not going to disappear. It’s coming back and we must find a way to address the issue,” he said.
Alaska is a crossroads of disease
In the case of Alaska, “a mixing area” that allows global bird migrations, the spread of avian diseases remains an issue, said Gerlach. “Alaska is a place of refuge for birds coming from North America or the Americas and also from Asia,” he said.
Avian flu in 2014 and the year 2015 were brought in 2014 and 2015 from Asia into North America by wild birds moving through Alaska. The current avian influenza is traversing continents through Alaska however from different directions, research by Ramey has revealed.
In a new report, Ramey and his research team discovered what appears likely to be three separate and distinct introgressions into the highly pathogenic bird flu into Alaska this year. The research, conducted by Ramey and coworkers from USGS and other agencies utilized genetic analysis to identify the origin of one strain of influenza towards North America and two to Asia.
“To be able to have three new introductions in Western Alaska, two from East Asia and one from the lower 48 I’m talking about it’s something we’ve never had similar previously,” he said. “It is, in my opinion shows the way that these viruses can be sustained.”
The study looked at birds that were killed in the autumn of 2022 from hunters who hunted in the Izembek National Wilderness Refuge region at the southern end of the Alaska Peninsula. Ramey and his team discovered just a few hunted birds infected by the very pathogenic and active influenza virus. Out of 811 swabs collected directly from birds and 99 samples taken from feces. the only birds harvested as being infected were eight pintails as well as one cackling goose, and one Widgeon.
It could take months to obtain the results of tests from samples which is why what happened to the birds is not known the expert explained. However, their meat could be eaten provided it was cooked correctly to the recommended 165 ° according to him. “Heat is remarkable at activating virus,” he said. In addition to the cooking tips There are also long-standing guidelines for handling safely hunted birds, including regular handwashing and avoiding clearly sick animals.
There is no evidence to suggest that the current avian flu outbreak poses a risk of infection to humans. There are only one or a handful of instances were reported around different parts of the world and they were common among those who worked on poultry..
For Alaskans who depend to wild animals, the pathogenic virus poses a new type of risk, one that could lead to food security issues. If many birds end ending up dying, it could result in less food available in the rural areas of Alaska, Ramey and Gerlach stated.
“Obviously that fewer birds result in less availability, and also less resiliency of the population against issues like diseases, the effects of climate change, or toxic substances etc., which can in reality, affect the bird populations,” Ramey said.
Many stressors are already present throughout wild communities, explained, “so adding another threat to these populations won’t do these populations any good.”
