Polar Bear Dies As Bird Flu Strain H5N1 Sweeps Across the Globe

A polar bear was found dead in Alaska, and it's the first time we know of a polar bear dying from bird flu. The bear was discovered in Utqiagvik, an area that's been hit hard by the current global outbreak. The death was confirmed in December by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

"This is the first polar bear case reported anywhere," Dr Bob Gerlach, Alaska's state veterinarian, told the Alaska Beacon.

Yet, according to Dr Gerlach, the bear might not have become sick directly from eating an infected bird.

"If a bird dies of this, especially if it's kept in a cold environment, the virus can be maintained for a while in the environment," he said.

In the last two years, as more wild birds got sick, different animals like dolphins, porpoises, seals, foxes, and otters also got the disease. The virus, identified as H5N1, poses a threat to humans, particularly those in contact with poultry.

The polar bear death is a sign of the unusually persistent and lethal hold that this strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has on wild animal populations two years after it arrived in North America, officials said.

"What we're dealing with now is a scenario that we haven't dealt with in the past. And so there's no manual," said Andy Ramey, a US Geological Survey wildlife geneticist and avian influenza expert.

Polar bears are categorized as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of endangered species, primarily as a result of the diminishing sea ice.