In the wake of a severe bird flu outbreak caused by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), Damas Island in northern Chile, usually a bustling tourist hotspot teeming with wildlife, is now only visited by paramedics in biosecurity gear retrieving deceased animals.
The H5N1 virus has prompted the closure of the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve in the Coquimbo region, which encompasses Damas Island, home to 56% of the Humboldt penguin breeding pairs endemic to Chile and Peru.
The National Fisheries Agency (Sernapesca) has reported that the current avian flu crisis has claimed the lives of 10% of the Humboldt penguin population in Chile this year.
Gerardo Cerda, Sernapesca’s regional conservation and biodiversity manager, warns that the “Humboldt penguin is at an endangered conservation status, and it is likely to shift to a more critical category soon.”
Agencies like the Agriculture Agency (SAG), the National Forestry Society (CONAF), and Sernapesca have amplified their efforts over the past six months to curb the spread of the virus in the reserve, also inhabited by sea lions, petrels, and guanay cormorants.
Patrols have been traversing the island, collecting carcasses to prevent further transmission of the disease.
This unprecedented crisis has impacted a total of fifty species in Chile, including pelicans, sea otters, and seagulls.
One human case of infection has been reported, leading to serious hospitalization.
Over 1,300 Humboldt penguins and 8,000 other marine creatures, predominantly sea lions, have succumbed to the bird flu.
The unexpected spread among mammals is a cause for concern among experts.
Simultaneously, an alarming increase in sea lion fatalities is observed on the coast of Damas Island.
Chile shelters around 40% of the global sea lion population, with approximately 200,000 individuals.
Dead sea lions have been found across 13 of the country’s 16 regions, in a species that had not previously been affected by this disease.
Countries such as China, Egypt, and Vietnam have initiated bird flu vaccination campaigns, which the World Health Organization (WHO) believes are effective measures to diminish the number of cases and decrease the risk to humans.
Nevertheless, these vaccines are primarily aimed at birds and pose certain risks.
They do not cure infected animals, only slowing the spread of the virus, according to Christopher Hamilton-West, an expert in veterinary epidemiology at the University of Chile.
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