CANBERRA, Sept 25 — H5N1 has spread rapidly over the last two years to become a global animal pandemic, according to the UN. In a paper published in the journal Conservation Letters, researchers from Australia and the UK suggest that the virus could spread rapidly through the animal population due to kleptoparasitism—or food theft—among certain seabird species.
A research team led by Simon Gorta from the University of New South Wales (Australia) has investigated the kleptoparasitic behavior of frigatebirds and skuas. These two species of seabird are known to steal food from other birds, either by snatching freshly caught prey out of their beaks, or by forcing them to regurgitate their meal.
In their paper, the researchers explain that this practice, known as kleptoparasitism, could play a key role in the spread of avian flu.
By forcing other birds to regurgitate their prey, frigatebirds and skuas could come into contact with food contaminated with the H5N1 virus. Not only could they contract the virus, but they could also spread it to other animals during their travels.
“Many seabirds, including these kleptoparasitic species, cover tens of thousands of kilometers in their migrations. If kleptoparasites become infected during these migrations and come into contact with other individuals in a way that can facilitate transmission soon after, the disease could spread into new, threatened, and previously unexposed populations and regions,” study coauthor Alex Berryman explains in a news release.
This new understanding of the role of kleptoparasitism in the spread of H5N1 could help specialists limit the risk of avian flu contamination. Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed great concern at the increasing spread of the H5N1 strain of avian flu to new species, notably dairy cows, in the United States. At present, however, the WHO considers the overall public health risk posed by this virus to be low.
But H5N1 evolves very quickly. The fear is that, as it infects more and more mammals, it will develop the ability to infect humans. “And then critically, the ability to go from human-to-human transmission,” warns Dr. Jeremy Farrar, chief scientist at the World Health Organisation, in a UN news release.
The findings of this study could help the scientific community to better monitor and assess the risk associated with the H5N1 virus, particularly in seabirds. The future of these birds is threatened not only by avian flu, but also by predation by invasive species, industrial fishing and climate change. — AFP
