Overview
- Norwegian vets confirmed a roughly one-year-old male polar bear found dead on Spitzbergen was infected with the H5N5 subtype of avian influenza.
- A nearby adult walrus also tested positive for the same virus, building on earlier H5N5 detections in local walruses and polar foxes.
- Officials reported sightings of two other polar bears with pronounced limping, a symptom that can reflect neurological disease seen in mammal infections.
- Authorities have urged people to keep distance from wildlife, expanded sampling and surveillance, and said human infection is possible but remains uncommon.
- Experts warn the finding fits a wider trend of bird flu spilling into diverse mammals across Europe and the Arctic, raising concerns for vulnerable populations and ecosystems.