Australia withdraws 24 staff from Macquarie Island before H5 bird flu arrives
The Australian Antarctic Program is withdrawing 24 tradespeople, scientists and support staff from its sub-Antarctic station. The island is currently free of the virus, yet experts expect heavy pup mortality in the elephant seal breeding season; 13,000 pups died of bird flu on Heard Island last summer. The icebreaker Nuyina is due to reach the island in late September or early October, before the seal season peaks.
Science··Evening
Twenty-four expeditioners are being pulled out
The Australian Antarctic Program is withdrawing 24 tradespeople, scientists and support staff from its sub-Antarctic station on Macquarie Island. The expeditioners who began a year-long deployment in May are being pulled out over the psychological risk of mass wildlife deaths from H5 bird flu, according to ABC News, which frames the move as a precaution before the virus reaches the island. Sean Sullivan, deputy secretary at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, describes the direct danger to people as low. He grounds the withdrawal in the psychosocial burden of living beside large numbers of sick animals and calls the step an unusual measure. The division says it is examining monitoring options and remains committed to a long-term presence on Macquarie; the pullout does not mean abandoning the station permanently.[1], [2]
Elephant seal mortality grounds the withdrawal
H5 avian influenza has not been detected on the island, and expert assessments point to heavy mortality among elephant seals during the breeding season. The Australian Antarctic Program relays an assessment that up to 90 per cent of elephant seal pups could perish if the virus arrives. Elephant seal pup mortality above 90 per cent was recorded on Heard Island and the McDonald Islands over summer, and 13,000 pups died of bird flu on Heard Island. ABC News reports that although the island is currently free of the virus, the expected toll on wildlife is the psychological burden behind the withdrawal. Sullivan's concern is that staff would have to witness mass wildlife deaths at close quarters; direct human health risk is secondary. The agency aims to spare personnel the sight of a breeding-season die-off should a similar wave reach the island.[1], [2]
Nuyina will reach the island in late September
The icebreaker Nuyina is due to collect the team in late September or early October. The Australian Antarctic Program aims to remove personnel before the peak of the elephant seal breeding season, and ABC News says Nuyina will sail to the island in October. The 24 expeditioners who landed in May will leave mid-way through a year-long rotation. While it examines monitoring options, the division repeats that it remains committed to a long-term presence on Macquarie. Sullivan stresses that the step is an unusual measure; 13,000 elephant seal pups died of bird flu on Heard Island last summer, and that toll sits behind the decision. ABC News reports that the island is currently free of the virus but that experts expect heavy pup mortality.[1], [2]
