Out­break of avi­an flu on Hopen

The­re was a major out­break of avi­an flu, also known as bird flu, on the remo­te island Hopen in sou­the­ast Sval­bard, as Nor­we­gi­an Polar Insti­tu­te Hall­vard Strøm told the Nor­we­gi­an media plat­form NRK. Seve­ral thousand birds are belie­ved to have died on Hopen from avi­an flu, main­ly kit­ti­wa­kes.

Cliffs with major bird colo­nies on Hopen.

The­re have been simi­lar, even lar­ger out­breaks of avi­an flue in sea­bird colo­nies in north Nor­way. In some cases, the los­ses were dra­ma­tic and major frac­tions of the colo­nies were wiped out. In Spits­ber­gen, avi­an flu was found for the first time in 2002, but the recent out­break on Hopen is the lar­gest one so far.

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