Scientists sequence avian flu genome found in Antarctica

Penguins line the shore in South Georgia, Antarctica. A team of Chilean scientists has sequenced the first complete genomes of the H5N1 avian influenza virus found in birds in Antarctica. File Photo by L.A. Kelly Whybrow/Royal Nacy/EPA

Aug. 15 (UPI) — A team of Chilean scientists has sequenced the first complete genomes of the H5N1 avian influenza virus found in birds in Antarctica.

The work, led by the University of Chile and the Chilean Antarctic Institute, was published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marking a milestone in pathogen research on the frozen continent.

The study, which included sequencing the virus in birds such as Antarctic skuas and terns, provides crucial information for understanding the evolution of H5N1 and its potential spread to other species.

Sequencing a virus’s genome is like reading its complete genetic code. In this case, genomic analysis of avian flu found in Antarctica showed the virus is part of the variant that has affected South America.

“Sequencing and genetically characterizing this virus in Antarctic birds allows us to understand its behavior in an extreme, pristine and particularly vulnerable ecosystem,” said Víctor Neira, a professor at the University of Chile’s Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and a member of the research team.

Specifically, the phylogenetic analysis showed a high genetic similarity to viruses detected in gulls and fur seals on South Georgia Island, confirming the existence of a viral migration route from South America to Antarctica.

The finding underscores the need for constant global epidemiological surveillance and highlights the virus’s risk of mutation, experts said. By infecting new species in a different environment, the virus could become more dangerous and pose a threat to human and animal health worldwide.

According to the research team, its greatest contribution to Antarctic science is providing essential data on biodiversity and emerging risks in the region.

In late 2023, H5N1 reached Antarctica for the first time, breaking the isolation that had kept the continent free of the virus.

The first cases were recorded in skuas on South Georgia Island, and during 2024 and 2025, the virus spread to the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea, affecting birds such as penguins, cormorants and gulls, as well as marine mammals including fur seals and elephant seals.

Recent scientific expeditions detected nearly 200 infected animals from 13 species in more than 20 locations, confirming the outbreak has taken hold in the region and poses a serious threat to its fragile biodiversity.

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