The bird flu virus H5N1 killed more than 50 skuas during the summers from 2023 through 2024. This marks the first confirmed case of wild animals in Antarctica dying from this virus. “Everything indicates that this virus will continue to spread,” says virologist Thijs Kuiken of Erasmus MC.

Skuas are large predatory birds that play an important ecological role as scavengers. Precisely because of this, they can further spread the virus across Antarctica, according to a study led by Erasmus MC and the University of California, Davis, published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports. 

Read the full (Dutch) story on the Amazing Erasmus MC website.

Source: Amazing Erasmus MC
Date: 6 February 2026