Polar bear dies from bird flu as H5N1 spreads across globe

Polar bears are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN red list of endangered species, mainly due to the loss of sea ice. Photograph: Yvette Cardozo/Alamy

A polar bear has been killed by bird flu as the highly contagious H5N1 virus spreads into the most remote parts of the planet.

The death was confirmed in December by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. “This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere,” Dr Bob Gerlach, Alaska’s state veterinarian, told the Alaska Beacon.