The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has decided to temporarily withdraw staff from the Macquarie Island research station in Antarctica due to the psychosocial risk to expeditioners posed by a potential H5 avian influenza (bird flu) outbreak on the remote island.
The research station, where 24 expeditioners currently live and work, was established on the Southern Ocean island about 1,500 kilometres south-east of Tasmania in 1948.
"While the risk to humans remains low, a significant mortality event during the upcoming seal breeding season could expose expeditioners to prolonged psychological stress and other workplace impacts," the AAD said in a statement.
"The health, safety and wellbeing of expeditioners is the highest priority for the Australian Antarctic Division, making their withdrawal from Macquarie Island a necessary precaution.
"Sending a ship to extract our staff from Macquarie Island is a significant undertaking. An unplanned evacuation could take months or disrupt all our other stations. This is why we are taking a planned and deliberate approach ahead of a wildlife mortality event."
The AAD said that while H5 bird flu has not yet been detected on the island, it is home to large elephant seal populations close to station buildings – and expert assessments predict a high likelihood of a significant mortality event during the upcoming breeding season.
Elephant seals have proved particularly susceptible to H5 bird flu, with pup mortality rates of more than 90 per cent discovered in some colonies in the sub-Antarctic external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
Australia’s icebreaking research and supply vessel Nuyina will travel to the island in early October to retrieve personnel and essential cargo. The AAD added that it is currently working through steps to mitigate impacts for its international monitoring obligations, wildlife monitoring and infrastructure, and to best prepare the station for temporary closure.