Marion Island confirms H5N1 outbreak as NSPCA calls for intervention

Experts are warning that South Africa is on the brink of an avian influenza disaster.

This is according to the National Council of SPCA’s (NSPCA), who said if the government failed to act, it could cause suffering for thousands of birds. 

“The NSPCA warns that without urgent intervention, another outbreak will tear through the poultry industry, leaving millions of birds in its wake and even threatening wild bird populations.

"Should AI (avian influenza) ravage through the poultry industry, the fastest and most effective way to stop the spread of the disease is culling infected birds - this prevents further suffering and stops the disease from spreading. However, vaccination could also play a crucial role in reducing outbreaks.”

The NSPCA said on November 25, 2024, it urgently called on Agriculture Minister, John Steenhuisen, to drive vaccination and its access, with sufficient biosecurity measures. 

“However, the poultry industry seems to be barred by impractical policies, such as the unrealistic biosecurity protocols, and the extensive cost of monitoring systems. To date, we have received no response.

"The NSPCA has directed another letter to Minister Steenhuisen, for which we await a reply,” they said.

Senior inspector and manager of the NSPCA’s Farm Animal Protection Unit, Nazareth Appalsamy, added: “This is both an animal welfare emergency and a looming economic disaster, with potential losses reaching millions of rands."

The NSPCA said they met with the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), which agreed that humane culling and preventative measures are essential and that without immediate government intervention, another outbreak is inevitable.

"As migratory birds return to South Africa at different times depending on their species, the risk of a new outbreak continues to rise by the day.

"The NSPCA urges the government to take immediate action, because this disaster is on our doorstep – it’s only a matter of time before it’s too late," they added.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment also confirmed the presence avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 on Marion Island.

“Samples collected between September and December 2024 were all shipped back to mainland South Africa, via the SA Agulhas II, in February 2025," the department said.

"In March, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing confirmed infection in six bird species, comprising Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Brown (Subantarctic) Skua (Stercorarius antarcticus), Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), Northern Giant Petrel (M. halli) and Sooty Albatross (Phoebetria fusca)."

They said following an initial suspected case in a Brown Skua at Marion Island (a bird showing clinical signs of HPAI infection including twitching and tremors) in mid-September 2024, more similar cases were reported in early November and mortalities in multiple species have continued into March 2025, though the overall death rate slowed significantly in January. 

“The reduced mortality rate is promising, but 31 bird species breed on Marion Island and the bird species and age composition varies throughout the year, therefore it is difficult to predict how the outbreak will progress. The potential effects on marine mammals are also of concern but no increased mortality has been reported in any mammal species so far,” they said.

 Among Wandering Albatrosses, chicks were mostly affected, with at least 150 of approximately 1 900 chicks from the 2024 cohort having died.

"However, adults have been affected worst in other species: at least 80 adult Brown Skuas, and approximately 120 adult King Penguins. Much smaller numbers of affected giant petrels (at least 20 Southern and four Northern) and Sooty Albatrosses (five) have been observed. The deaths of adult seabirds are of greater concern than chicks, because most species only start to breed at 3 to 10 years of age, and most affected species raise at most one chick per year," the department said.

They said there are also a multitude of other threats to seabirds, including fisheries bycatch, climate change, plastic pollution and predation by introduced house mice on Marion Island.

"Marion Island, along with neighbouring Prince Edward Island, provides critical breeding and moulting grounds for millions of seabirds and marine mammals, including nearly half of the worlds Wandering Albatrosses, hundreds of thousands of penguins, and large numbers of Southern Elephant Seals and Subantarctic and Antarctic Fur Seals," the department explained.

"The Archipelago is located in the south western Indian Ocean, about 2 000km southeast of Cape Town and halfway between Africa and Antarctica."

The department said that observations of and laboratory test results for HPAI (H5N1) on Marion Island could assist in inferring the potential risk to animals on Prince Edward Island because they share various ecological characteristics. 

“Visits to Prince Edward Island are limited to one visit every four years, to limit human impacts on the island and preserve its pristine state, and the last survey was undertaken in November 2023,” they said. 

“Having spread around the globe since 2021, HPAI (H5N1) was detected in seabirds and marine mammals in South Georgia, southeast of South America, in October 2023.  

“It reached the Antarctic Peninsula in February 2024 and was detected at the French archipelagos of Crozet and Kerguelen (950 and 2300 km east of Marion respectively) in October and November 2024. The virus can be transported long distances by migrating birds, and the virus moved from South Georgia to the French islands.”

The department said the situation on Marion Island was being closely monitored by the field personnel overwintering on the island, who have been trained to recognise possible HPAI signs in birds and seals.

Cape Argus