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Since 2021, an outbreak of chook flu has swept the globe. Since then, this contagious illness is believed to have killed hundreds of untamed birds and different animals.
Not too long ago, chook flu was confirmed to have killed a Polar Bear in Alaska. The bear’s dying reveals that the illness has unfold to essentially the most distant areas of the planet the place animal populations are poorly outfitted to deal with the virus.
Chicken flu was first recognized in China in 1996. It is usually generally known as H5N1. A contagious illness, chook flu is a variant of the influenza virus. Though it primarily impacts birds, notably wild birds, it has been identified to contaminate people and different mammals.
Usually, outbreaks of chook flu are seasonal. Nonetheless, the present pressure of H5N1 has turn out to be persistent. It has additionally developed to contaminate a number of completely different species. This pressure has been confirmed to be circulating in Asia, Europe, and North America.
In December of 2023, Alaskan wildlife officers confirmed {that a} Polar Bear in northern Alaska had died of chook flu. The bear possible contracted the virus after scavenging and consuming carcasses of contaminated birds.
The dying of this Alaskan Polar Bear is the primary confirmed dying of a Polar Bear from chook flu anyplace on the planet, in accordance with a press release given by Dr. Bob Gerlach to the Alaska Beacon. Nonetheless bears from different species, together with black and brown bears, have died from chook flu.
The dying of the Polar Bear reveals that chook flu has unfold to essentially the most distant areas of the world. Circumstances of chook flu have additionally been discovered within the Antarctic area.
Animals within the Antarctic had beforehand been unexposed to the illness, prompting concern over the affect it might have on their already weak populations.
Polar Bears are listed as a weak species by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature. Lack of sea ice is the primary situation dealing with the massive bear species.
The bears hunt and mate on the ice. Nonetheless, sea ice is quickly melting as a result of Local weather change. That is making it more and more tough for Polar Bears to outlive.
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This text by Willow Lynn was first revealed by One Inexperienced Planet on 5 January 2024. Picture Credit score: Popova Valeriya/Shutterstock
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