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Scientists investigating a mass mortality event at Antarctica’s remote Danger Islands identified avian cholera as the main cause of death in the Adélie penguins they tested—not H5N1 bird flu. The finding comes from a March 2024 survey that documented thousands of dead penguins and other seabirds.

What killed the penguins?

The primary diagnosis was avian cholera, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida. Investigators reached that conclusion after testing carcasses collected during an international expedition to two Danger Islands in March 2024.

The islands support more than 1.2 million breeding pairs of Adélie penguins. Researchers observed thousands of dead Adélies across the surveyed colonies, as well as carcasses from other seabird species. That count describes what the expedition found at the colonies it visited; it is not an estimate of every penguin death in Antarctica during 2024.

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How scientists separated avian cholera from H5N1

H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza was an important initial concern because the virus had recently reached Antarctica. However, the investigation tested for more than one pathogen instead of assuming that bird flu explained the die-off.

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Question Avian cholera H5N1 in this event
Causative agent Pasteurella multocida, a bacterium H5N1, an influenza A virus
Evidence in sampled animals DNA detected in 46 of 49 carcasses tested Detected in only a few sampled animals
Diagnostic approach Molecular testing, tissue examination and genome sequencing Tested as part of the same infectious-disease investigation
Lesson for surveillance Include bacterial causes when investigating seabird deaths Do not treat an H5N1 alert as a substitute for differential diagnosis

Sample collection and laboratory work

Swabs and tissues from 49 carcasses were tested for infectious agents. Researchers also submitted additional tissues from nine carcasses for histology, the microscopic examination of diseased tissue. Pasteurella multocida DNA was found in 46 of the 49 sampled animals, a result that supported avian cholera as the cause of death for most of the investigated animals.

Metagenomic sequencing recovered genomes from the outbreak strain. That method reads genetic material from a sample and can identify pathogens without relying only on a single preselected test. The team then used phylogenetic analysis to compare the strain with previously reported Southern Ocean strains.

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What the genetic evidence shows

The outbreak strain was closely related to a strain identified in Antarctic seabirds more than two decades earlier. UC Davis also reported a close genetic link to related detections more than 8,000 kilometers away in the Southern Ocean. These comparisons suggest that avian cholera has circulated in the region for at least 20 years, although the evidence does not establish a continuous chain of transmission or identify how the bacterium reached the Danger Islands.

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NCBI BioProject PRJNA1389911 describes the work as multispecies genome sequencing and links it to the Iervolino and colleagues publication record. The NCBI entry lists the online publication in 2025. The University of California, Davis reported the mortality finding in 2026.

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Why this matters for Antarctic wildlife health

Remote colonies can experience large outbreaks before anyone observes them. The Danger Islands event demonstrates that wildlife-health teams need sustained monitoring and a broad testing strategy, even when one highly publicized disease is dominating attention.

  • Multiple pathogens can be present: H5N1 was detected in a few sampled animals, but the evidence points mainly to avian cholera in this mortality event.
  • Carcass testing is decisive: Sampling tissues, performing histology and sequencing genomes can distinguish a bacterial outbreak from viral disease or mixed infections.
  • Regional circulation may be longstanding: Genetic similarities to older Antarctic and distant Southern Ocean detections indicate that avian cholera is not necessarily a newly arrived threat.
  • Other seabirds may be vulnerable: Carcasses from several seabird species were found alongside the Adélie penguins, so investigators are treating the event as a broader seabird-health warning rather than a penguin-only phenomenon.

What is still uncertain

The available evidence identifies avian cholera as the major cause among the animals investigated, but it does not prove that every penguin death in Antarctica in 2024 had the same cause. The expedition sampled 49 carcasses from a much larger mortality scene, and H5N1 was not absent from the samples. Continued surveillance would be needed to measure the outbreak’s full geographic extent, determine whether additional pathogens contributed, and track whether the strain remains present in Antarctic colonies.

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What avian cholera means for penguins

Avian cholera can cause rapid mortality in birds, and dense breeding colonies may allow infectious material to spread through close contact or contamination of shared environments. In Antarctica, remoteness makes rapid response difficult: carcasses may remain undiscovered, and collecting representative samples requires international expeditions operating under severe logistical constraints.

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Lead author Matteo Iervolino said the findings suggest avian cholera “may be a more widespread and underestimated cause of seabird mortality in Antarctica than previously recognized.” The practical implication is straightforward: when penguins or other seabirds die in unusual numbers, investigators must test for avian cholera alongside H5N1 and other infectious causes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the Danger Islands?

They are a remote Antarctic island group that supports more than 1.2 million breeding pairs of Adélie penguins. The reported mortality investigation covered two islands visited during the March 2024 expedition.

Does this prove H5N1 did not affect the penguins?

No. H5N1 was detected in a few sampled animals. The testing indicates that avian cholera caused most of the investigated deaths, not that bird flu was absent.

How many carcasses were tested?

Researchers tested swabs and tissues from 49 carcasses for infectious agents and examined additional histology tissues from nine carcasses.

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