Friday, January 5, 2024

Polar bear dies of avian flu


 

A polar bear in Alaska has died of avian influenza, the first known case in a mammal.


It has prompted an official in Alberta to caution that the same could happen in Canada’s north.


Alaskan officials believe the polar bear ate a bird that was infected.

Migrating waterfowl have been spreading the highly-pathogenic avian influenza across Canada, the United States and Europe, prompting poultry farmers to cope with flock depopulations and quarantine zones to prevent it from spreading further.


So far it has been deemed harmless to humans.