Dispersal, adaptation and persistence of H5N1 in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica

High pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 reached the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica in 2023, subsequently spreading to remote locations within this region where it had devastating impacts on seal, penguin and albatross populations. The threat to marine wildlife over this broad area exemplifies the need to understand H5N1 long-distance dispersal and evolution. We obtained 104 novel viral genomic sequences from samples that we collected at South Georgia, Kerguelen, Crozet, Prince Edward, Falklands/Malvinas Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula in a region spanning 8,000 kilometers. Using recent phylogeographic modeling advances we show that H5N1 spread encompassed numerous transmission events between distant locations, accumulating mammalian-adaptive mutations in the process. Seals are the most affected species, but we reveal that the long-distance eastward virus dispersal better aligns with the long-distance movements of large petrels and albatrosses. The risk of H5N1 endemisation, dispersal to other locations and ongoing evolution are highly concerning.

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Journal
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Published
2026-03-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.20.713283
Primary Topic
Influenza Virus Research Studies
Type
article
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article

Dispersal, adaptation and persistence of H5N1 in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica

Eva Riehle, Paula Martínez-García, Jonathon Stevenson, Simeon Lisovski et al.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Influenza Virus Research Studies
article

Dispersal, adaptation and persistence of H5N1 in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica

Eva Riehle, Paula Martínez-García, Jonathon Stevenson, Simeon Lisovski, Simona Sanvito, J Tornos, Carrie Gunn, Ángela Vázquez-Calvo, Amanda Kuepfer, Jaimie B. Cleeland, Peter G. Ryan, Ashley C. Banyard, F. Bonadonna, Michelle M. Risi, Nicholas Michael Fountain-Jones, Benjamin Kaza, Samuel L. Hong, Ian D. Jonsen, Béatrice Grasland, Marc A. Suchard, Thierry Boulinier, Timothée Bonnet, B. Aguado, Mark T. Nelson, Célia Abolnik, Christopher W. Jones, Holly A. Coombes, Filippo Galimberti, Maëlle Connan, Paulo Catry, Marcela Uhart, T. Kuiken, Mathilde Lejeune, Laura C. Roberts, Ana Moraga, Marius Brusselmans, Ashley Bennison, Aude Noiret, Maria Ogrzewalska, Tristan Bralet, Xiaomin Dong, Yucai Shao, Kate A. Owen, Julia Emerit, J. White, Michelle McCulley, Andrew Stanworth, CA Bost, Richard A. Phillips, Catalina Pardo-Roa, Juliana A. Vianna, Jacob González-Solís, Matteo Iervolino, Celine LeBohec, Lucía Llorente Zubiri, Samuel Peroteau, Guy Baele, Ralph E. T. Vanstreels, Amandine Gamble, Joshua G. Lynton-Jenkins, Antonio Alcamí, Meagan Dewar, Francois-Xavier Briand, Xiang Ji, Anne Gunther, Romain Fischer, Scott Maclean, Sara Boucheron, Elie Poulin, Paul Whitelaw, Rhiannon Nichol, Camille de Pasquale, Joe James, Michelle Wille, Christophe Guinet, Clive R McMahon, Augustin Clessin, Jane L. Younger, Antoine Stier, Martin Beer, Antje Maclean Steinfurth, Katie Wells, Karine C Delord, Benjamin Mollett, Odin Rumianowski, Andrew Rambaut, Christophe Barbraud
article en

Abstract

High pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 reached the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica in 2023, subsequently spreading to remote locations within this region where it had devastating impacts on seal, penguin and albatross populations. The threat to marine wildlife over this broad area exemplifies the need to understand H5N1 long-distance dispersal and evolution. We obtained 104 novel viral genomic sequences from samples that we collected at South Georgia, Kerguelen, Crozet, Prince Edward, Falklands/Malvinas Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula in a region spanning 8,000 kilometers. Using recent phylogeographic modeling advances we show that H5N1 spread encompassed numerous transmission events between distant locations, accumulating mammalian-adaptive mutations in the process. Seals are the most affected species, but we reveal that the long-distance eastward virus dispersal better aligns with the long-distance movements of large petrels and albatrosses. The risk of H5N1 endemisation, dispersal to other locations and ongoing evolution are highly concerning.

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (FR), Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Tasmania (AU), Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (DE), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), British Antarctic Survey (GB), The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (GB), Natural Environment Research Council (GB), Federation University (AU), University of Turku (FI), University of Cape Town (ZA), École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL), The University of Melbourne (AU), Iowa State University (US), Animal and Plant Health Agency (GB), Emory and Henry College (US), École nationale d'ingénieurs de Brest (FR), Cornell University (US), Rega Institute for Medical Research (BE), University of Cambridge (GB), Ministry for Primary Industries (NZ), United States National Library of Medicine (US), Government of South Africa (ZA), Erasmus MC (NL), Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (ZA), Millennium Science Initiative (CL), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (FR), Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (FR), South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (FK), Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (FR), Peter Doherty Institute (AU), Universidad Andrés Bello (CL), Aquatic Systems (United States) (US), Agence Nationale des Fréquences (FR), Peuplements végétaux et bioagresseurs en milieu tropical (RE), Sydney Institute of Marine Science (AU), Scientific Centre of Monaco (MC), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (ES), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (CL), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), Université de Strasbourg (FR), University of Pretoria (ZA), University of Chile (CL), Université de Montréal (CA), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), Falklands Conservation (GB), University of California, Davis (US), Acadia University (CA), University of Edinburgh (GB), KU Leuven (BE), Nelson Mandela University (ZA)
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