Disease and Antarctic wildlife

Why is wildlife disease in Antarctica a concern?

Antarctica is the only continent where disease resulting from human activities has not been documented among native wildlife. However, unexplained mass mortalities of seals and penguins have been observed in the past. Recently antibodies to Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (a disease of domestic poultry), have been found in Antarctic penguins, and antibodies to Bruccella (a disease causing abortion in cattle), have also been reported from both Antarctic fur seals and Weddell seals. None of these events have been conclusively attributed to human activity, but the risk of accidentally introducing and spreading wildlife disease grows as the number of visitors to Antarctica increases.

Penguins could be threatened by the introduction of avian diseases. These Adélie penguins form large breeding colonies that may assist with the spread of disease from bird to bird
Photographer: Paul Goldsworthy

The possibility of disease introduction to the wildlife of Antarctica has been recognised since very early in the Antarctic Treaty and was identified as a concern at the first symposium of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Biology Working Group in 1962 (Murray, 1964). However, the issue has since received scant attention and little has been achieved towards implementing practical procedures to protect Antarctic wildlife from introduced disease.

In 1964, the Antarctic Treaty System accepted The Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora. These Measures prohibited the introduction of any plant or animal species that was not indigenous to the Treaty Area, except in accordance with a permit. The Agreed Measures also included precautions to prevent accidental introduction of parasites and diseases into the Treaty Area. All dogs (imported for working) were to be inoculated against distemper, contagious canine hepatitis, rabies and leptospirosis, and the transport of live poultry into the Treaty Area was prohibited.

When the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol) came into force in 1998 the Agreed Measures were superseded by new regulations. Signatories to the protocol are no longer permitted to take dogs to Antarctica, and those that were already present within the Treaty Area were removed. Precautions were introduced to prevent the introduction of alien micro-organisms into native Antarctic fauna including: a ban on the import of live poultry (and other birds); routine inspection of dressed poultry for signs of Newcastle's disease, tuberculosis and yeast infection; and to avoid the import to Antarctica of non-sterile soil to the maximum extent possible.

Although many countries, including Australia, impose strict quarantine control on the importation of materials from Antarctica there is little in international law to ensure quarantine control in the reverse direction. This is probably because there is no Antarctic equivalent to the national self-interest (i.e. protection of domestic livestock markets) that drives the establishment of quarantine restrictions elsewhere.