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Poultry virus discovered in Antarctic penguins
No outbreaks yet, but Australia reacts swiftly
May 15, 1997
Web posted at: 11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 GMT)(CNN) -- A gathering of penguins looks rather like hundreds of elegantly dressed men waiting somberly for a party to begin.
They stand calmly about, making small noises, and every now and then one or two will shuffle away, wings outstretched for balance like children walking on a narrow wall.
But there may be trouble stalking the world's most lovable bird.
Researchers in Antarctica have discovered that the Emperor and Adelie penguins have been infected by a poultry virus known as the Infectious Bursal Disease Virus. The virus causes immune deficiency and sometimes death in the young from hemorrhaging and by obstructing their breathing.
The virus is widespread in poultry throughout the world, but this is the first time it has been discovered in Antarctica.
The disease likely was brought to Antarctica by humans, but when and how no one can say. One researcher said the virus could have been present for many years, perhaps even decades.
Although there has been no evidence of an outbreak of the disease, the Australian government quickly announced that a workshop will be held to find a way to monitor the birds and to respond to any possible outbreak.
Emperor penguins breed in the winter and lay their eggs in May or June. The single egg is incubated by the male, huddling with other males in up to minus-40-degree Celsius temperatures, each of them holding the egg on their feet.
The females winter at sea and return to the colonies after seven or eight weeks to tend the chicks. The world population has been estimated at about 240,000.
The Adelie penguins, though smaller, are much more plentiful, numbering perhaps several million. They have dense plumage and a feathered bill.
They lay two eggs in pebble nests, incubate them through the spring and release them at the end of the short Antarctic summer.
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