News Excerpt: 

One of Norway’s Arctic islands recorded its first case of a walrus dying from bird flu. The walrus was found among six others on Hopen Island in the Svalbard archipelago last year.

What we know about the case

• Around six dead walruses were found last year in the Svalbard islands, which are approximately 1,000 kilometers away from the North Pole and The islands are also halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. 
• This is the first time that bird flu has been recorded in a walrus.
• Tests carried out at a German laboratory found traces of the bird flu virus in the walrus samples, but the specific strain (H5N1 or H5N8) could not be determined due to the small sample size.
• The researcher stated that it is "not improbable" that some of the other walruses found also had bird flu.

Important to monitor developments

• Researchers are concerned about the potential spread of bird flu among walruses, as they tend to group together during the summer when the ice flow melts.
• While bird flu primarily spreads through avian hosts like ducks and geese. 
• Mammals can also be infected by consuming infected birds or living close to other infected animals.
• A walrus which can grow to a weight of two tonnes mainly eats fish, but sometimes also consumes marine birds, increasing their risk of exposure to bird flu.
• A molecular microbiologist raised concerns about the threat posed by the transmission of bird flu to marine mammals. 
• He noted that animals such as sea lions and fur seals have previously fallen victim to the disease. 
• There is also the risk of a polar bear eating an infected walrus corpse. 
• The bird flu has already killed one polar bear in Alaska. 
• According to Antarctic researchers, thousands of marine mammals have died from bird flu viruses in South America.