Report details first suspected H5 avian flu detections in seabirds in Antarctica

News brief

In Scientific Reports today, Chilean researchers describe the first-time detection of suspected H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) in penguins and cormorants in Antarctica, which they say could indicate a significant expansion of the virus into the continent that would put susceptible bird species at risk.

The team conducted a geographic survey of seabirds at 13 breeding sites ranging from the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea, including the coasts of the Bellinghausen and Amundsen seas, in December 2023 and January 2024.

Beginning in 2020, clade 2.3.4.4b avian flu rapidly spread across continents, mainly driven by wild bird movements. "In Chile, it was detected for the first time in October 2022," the investigators wrote. "Given its close proximity to the Antarctic continent and the migratory movements of birds between both regions, transmission is highly likely, causing a significant threat to the Antarctic wildlife."

No clinical signs of avian flu

Of the 115 birds sampled, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results for 9, including 8 Adelie penguins (12%) at 2 different locations and 1 Atlantic cormorant, were suspected positive for H5 avian flu. Nearly all suspected infections were from Beagle Island, close to the Danger Islands at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Another infected penguin was identified on the West Antarctic Peninsula, south of the Antarctic Circle in Margaret Bay.

This study suggests the possibility of the first cases of HPAIV H5 in the Antarctic continent, potentially adding two new species to the list of infected species.

None of the birds sampled showed clinical signs of influenza infection, and the seven penguins with suspected infection on Beagle Island were still foraging as of March 2024, more than 2 months after testing.

"This study suggests the possibility of the first cases of HPAIV H5 in the Antarctic continent, potentially adding two new species to the list of infected species," the study authors wrote. "It also highlights the southernmost suspected cases identified to date of surveillance, and notably, no cases were detected between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea."

FDA grants priority review for new oral gonorrhea antibiotic

News brief

Chris Dall, MA

British drugmaker GSK said yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its application for priority review of gepotidacin as an oral option for uncomplicated gonorrhea infections.

Gepotidacin is a first-in-class triazaacenaphthylene antibiotic that inhibits bacterial DNA replication by targeting a distinct binding site. In March, the FDA approved the antibiotic for treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections. But GSK, which developed gepotidacin in collaboration with the US government's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, has also been evaluating its potential as a treatment for uncomplicated gonorrhea.

GSK's supplemental New Drug Application was supported by data from the EAGLE-I trial, which involved more than 600 people with Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in 5 countries. The results showed that two doses of oral gepotidacin were noninferior to the standard regimen of intramuscular ceftriaxone plus oral azithromycin, with a treatment success rate of 93% and no new safety concerns.

A much-needed new treatment option for gonorrhea

If gepotidacin is approved for gonorrhea, it would be a much-needed new option for the sexually transmitted bacterium, which causes more than 82 million infections globally each year. Ceftriaxone is the last remaining empiric treatment option for N gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that has quickly developed resistance to every antibiotic that's been used for treatment. But resistance to ceftriaxone is already high in parts of Asia and has been spreading to other parts of the world. GSK also noted that injectable ceftriaxone may not be suitable for all patients.

The threat of untreatable gonorrhea, which can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility in women, has led the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to label drug-resistant N gonorrhoeae a serious and urgent public health threat. The last new antibiotic for gonorrhea was introduced in the 1990s.

GSK said the FDA has set a target date of December 11, 2025, for its decision.