Penguins living in an aquarium in the Norwegian city of Bergen are vaccinated against bird flu after months of isolation.
Reported by The Local.
The 29 Gentoo penguins, which have been isolated since early December after cases of the highly infectious strain of avian influenza, H5N8, were identified in the country have already received their first dose of vaccine and will be able to return to normal life after receiving the second.
In their case, ordinary life involves sliding on the stomach, entertaining themselves in icy water, and catching fish with their beak.
The oldest and most vulnerable birds were given the first injection on Wednesday and on Thursday to the younger penguins.
Among the newly immunized is Erna the penguin, named after Prime Minister Erna Solberg. The head of government once worked at the aquarium, a tourist attraction in her hometown.
“The fact that penguins are being vaccinated now is a pure coincidence, completely independent of the coronavirus, but it shows that vaccines are important, even more so today,” said the director of the aquarium, Aslak Sverdrup.
In the wild, Gentoo penguins live in Antarctica.
Not a single penguin in the Bergen Aquarium has contracted the flu, and although the disease can be fatal to birds, transmission to humans is extremely rare.
