Story perspectives
Dead Seal Pups Found: H5 Influenza Investigation Underway
10/27/2025
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Story summary
- Australian scientists on Heard Island found hundreds of dead seal pups with signs of H5 influenza.
- The Australian Department of Agriculture says the observation is not yet confirmed as bird flu.
- Samples will be tested when the research vessel returns in mid-November.
- If confirmed, this would mark the southernmost spread of H5 influenza in Antarctica since its arrival from South America in 2023.
- The risk to mainland Australia remains low.
