Oslo: Norwegian government have found out the primary case of chicken flu in Svalbard, about 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole, sparking worry the virus may unfold to different avian populations within the far off area.

The Extremely Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was once detected this month in a polar seagull discovered lifeless within the archipelago’s capital Longyearbyen, the governor’s administrative center mentioned in a observation Thursday.

“The detection of the HPAI is being concerned as a result of a spread of the susceptible wild chicken populations lay eggs and brood within the archipelago in the summertime”, an respectable on the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Knut Madslien, mentioned within the observation.

“The species that collect on cliffs will probably be in particular uncovered if chicken flu is offered into the chicken colonies”, he added.

The governor’s administrative center mentioned the Veterinary Institute believed it was once “the primary time the virus has been detected within the Arctic”.

Svalbard (Spitzberg) is situated midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, from which it’s about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles).

Instances of chicken flu have been previous recognized in northern Europe, together with past the Arctic Circle, however till now by no means in such northern latitudes.