While an isolated case of avian flu has been spotted in a man and numerous cows in the United States, scientists are concerned about penguins, already at risk from melting ice, because the presence of the virus has been confirmed on the continent of Antarctica.
In total, 74 species of birds and marine mammals that live in the Antarctic region are threatened by the spread of the virus. The H5N1 virus, having decimated bird populations all over the world in recent months, was detected in Antarctica last February in samples from brown skuas, a species of seabird.