{
  "abstract": "The characterization of pathogens affecting Antarctic wildlife has been historically limited and sporadic. With the introduction of H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) in Antarctica in the austral summer 2023/2024, concerns about the health of Antarctic seabirds and mammals prompted immediate surveillance efforts. In March 2024, we visited the Danger Islands archipelago, that hosts two mega-colonies of Adélie penguins, and observed an unusual mortality estimated in thousands of Adélie penguins and other species. Swabs and tissues were collected for molecular detection of infectious agents from 49 carcasses, and additional tissues for histology from a selection of 9 carcasses. We detected Pasteurella multocida DNA in 46 of 49 individuals, and diagnosed avian cholera as the cause of death of most of these animals. By shotgun sequencing, we retrieved the first genomic sequences of the P. multocida strain from this region, and the phylogenetic analysis showed a close relation with strains from other locations retrieved during the same expedition and with strains previously reported in the Southern Ocean area. This study confirms avian cholera as a relevant cause of mortality in the Antarctic, and overall highlights the importance of considering this disease in the differential diagnoses during mortality events in Antarctica.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Viroscience, Erasmus University Medical Center 1 , Rotterdam, The Netherlands",
    "Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health 2 , Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany",
    "Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR-CONICET) 3 , Puerto Madryn, Argentina",
    "Ocean Expeditions Support Vessel S/V Australis 4 , Sydney, Australia",
    "Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research 5 , Potsdam, Germany",
    "Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Sistemas Alimentarios Sustentables (ICYTESAS-CONICET) 6 , Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina",
    "Future Regions Research Centre, Federation University Australia 7 , Berwick, Australia",
    "Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California 8 , Davis, CA, USA"
  ],
  "article_type": "research support, non u.s. gov't",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Matteo Iervolino",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-8476-4638"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Anne Günther",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5176-6346"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Leonard Schuele",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1721-5879"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Florencia Soto"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lonneke Leijten"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Theo M. Bestebroer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Adam Coerper"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Alice Reade"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Ben Wallis"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Simeon Lisovski",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6399-0035"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Gerardo Leotta"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Martin Beer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Meagan Dewar",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0581-2422"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Thijs Kuiken",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5501-9049"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lineke Begeman",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8856-9135"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Ralph E. T. Vanstreels"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a662znh45vkxd.bib",
  "cited_by": 5,
  "doi": "10.1098/rspb.2026.1271",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13674340",
  "id": "a662znh45vkxd",
  "issns": [
    "0962-8452",
    "1471-2954",
    "0080-4649",
    "2053-9193"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42869479",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2404|Microbial infections and disease research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221633380",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13674340?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13674340",
  "pmid": "42869479",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "Royal Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a662znh45vkxd.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:16Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42869479",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42869479"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T13:21:10Z",
      "native_id": "W7221633380",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.1271"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2404|Microbial infections and disease research",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Avian cholera causes mass mortality at penguin mega-colonies amid H5N1 HPAI outbreaks in Antarctica.",
  "title_text": "Avian cholera causes mass mortality at penguin mega-colonies amid H5N1 HPAI outbreaks in Antarctica.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T13:20:46Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a662znh45vkxd",
  "venue": "Proceedings. Biological sciences",
  "versions": []
}