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Australia to Evacuate Sub-Antarctic Research Base over Bird Flu Fears
Officials said 24 expeditioners will leave before the seal breeding season to avoid a possible H5 outbreak and mass wildlife deaths.
- On Friday, Aug 28, Australian officials announced the evacuation of 24 staff from Macquarie Island, citing "psychosocial" risks from a potential H5N1 bird flu outbreak.
- Scientists fear a significant mortality event on Macquarie Island during the upcoming breeding season; while H5N1 has not been detected there yet, pup mortality rates exceeded 90 per cent in other sub-Antarctic colonies like Heard Island.
- "It is unprecedented and we are in unprecedented times," said Sean Sullivan, deputy secretary at Canberra's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, emphasizing staff safety as the government's first priority.
- The icebreaker RSV Nuyina will arrive in early October to retrieve the team, an operation officials noted was necessary to avoid disrupting summer resupply missions to Antarctic bases.
- Australia's government remains committed to a $370m station rebuild despite the evacuation delay, while the Australian Antarctic Division explores monitoring options for future expeditioner returns.
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12 Articles
Australia to evacuate sub-Antarctic research base over bird flu fears
Australia said Friday it would evacuate workers from a research station on a remote island over the "psychosocial" risk posed by a potential outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza.
·Douglas, United Kingdom
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Breaking: 'Psychological risk': Australian scientists to abandon remote island over bird flu fears
The Australian Antarctic Division will launch a mission to extract personnel from Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean due to the psychological risk posed by a potential outbreak of bird flu at the remote wildlife sanctuary.
·Ultimo, Australia
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The 24 members of an Australian research station in Macquarie, Pacific, will be removed due to the risk they face if the outbreak of avian influenza decimates the elephant seamen living around the island.
·Portugal
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Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right4Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Right
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Right
57% Right
14%
C 29%
R 57%
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