New study: polar bears survive bird flu in Greenland
Svalbard WirePublished 20 OctoberReport by the Wire.
NRK said on 20 October that a new international study finds more polar bears in Greenland are infected with bird flu and survive. Antibodies in healthy bears show that they lived through the infection. NRK reported that similar findings exist on Svalbard, where melting ice pushes bears to eat more birds and eggs on land.
Background from 2026: Sysselmesteren (the Governor of Svalbard) said on 19 May that Veterinærinstituttet had found highly pathogenic bird flu in a dead one-year-old male polar bear in Raudfjorden. On 25 August the Governor said a second bear, found dead on Æøya, also tested positive.
NRK, Press. Høy andel isbjørner eksponert for fugleinfluensa. https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/hoy-andel-isbjorner-eksponert-for-fugleinfluensa-1.17975815 Ny studie: Isbjørn overlever fugleinfluensa. https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/ny-studie_-isbjorn-overlever-fugleinfluensa-1.18059962
The Governor of Svalbard (Sysselmesteren), Government. Fugleinfluensa påvist i hvalross og isbjørn på Svalbard. https://www.sysselmesteren.no/nb/nyheter/2026/05/fugleinfluensa-pavist-i-hvalross-og-isbjorn-pa-svalbard/ Fugleinfluensa påvist i enda en isbjørn. https://www.sysselmesteren.no/nyheter/2026/08/fugleinfluensa-pavist-i-enda-en-isbjorn/
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