{"id":35242,"date":"2024-01-12T11:31:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T10:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c7896a58-a92b-42f5-9157-fdaf578a3b99"},"modified":"2024-01-12T12:35:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T11:35:52","slug":"polar-bear-killed-by-bird-flu-in-alaska-as-virus-continues-to-spread-around-the-globe","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/polar-bear-killed-by-bird-flu-in-alaska-as-virus-continues-to-spread-around-the-globe\/","title":{"rendered":"Polar bear killed by bird flu in Alaska as virus continues to spread around the globe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bird flu continues to spread amongst mammals, with the death of a polar bear in Alaska and infections in elephant and fur seals on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. <\/p>

By Megan Shersby\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 12 January 2024 at 10:31 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The death of a polar bear<\/a> in northern Alaska has shown that\u00a0bird flu<\/a>\u00a0has made the jump into yet another mammal species. The dead polar bear was found in October 2023 near Utqiagvik in the northern part of the state, and whilst bird flu was not initially detected in the swabs taken from the carcass, further examination revealed that the virus was the cause of death.<\/p>

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), often called bird flu, has different strains of varying severity. H5N1 is a highly contagious strain, which is thought to have originated in poultry farms in China<\/a>. It rapidly spread around the globe, impacting both domestic and wild birds. In the UK, the virus was particularly devastating for some seabird populations such as gannets, terns and great skuas.\u00a0<\/p>