Norway reports Europe’s first case of bird flu in a polar bear

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Norwegian authorities have confirmed Europe's first case of bird flu in a polar bear, detected in the Svalbard region. This finding raises concerns about the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wildlife amidst ongoing environmental changes.

Norwegian authorities on Tuesday announced that bird flu has been documented in a polar bear for the first time in Europe, in the Svalbard region in the Arctic. The H5N5 variant of the virus was detected in samples taken from a male bear about one year old and a walrus found dead in mid-May on the icy archipelago, around 1,000km (600 miles) from the North Pole, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute said. “The results are part of a trend in which highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses are...