Argentina’s Higher Council for Scientific Investigations (CSIC) said on Sunday the discovery represents the first time that a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has reached Antarctica despite the distance and natural barriers that separate it from other continents. CSIC said the presence of the virus was confirmed in samples of dead skua sea birds on February 24.

Scientists have confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) on Antarctica, raising fears of ecological disaster. A deadly strain of bird flu has been confirmed for the first time on mainland Antarctica, scientists said, posing a potential threat to the southern region’s huge penguin colonies.

“This discovery represents the first time that a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has reached Antarctica despite the distance and natural barriers that separate it from other continents,” Argentina’s Higher Council for Scientific Investigations (CSIC) said on Sunday.

CSIC said the presence of the virus was confirmed on February 24 in samples of dead skua sea birds, which Argentine scientists found near the Antarctic base Primavera. The confirmed case on the Antarctic Peninsula follows cases on nearby islands, including in gentoo penguins, highlighting the threat to the region from H5N1 avian flu, which has devastated bird populations around the world in recent months.

“The analysis conclusively showed that the birds were infected with the H5 subtype of avian influenza and that at least one of the dead birds contained a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus,” CSIC said in a statement.

Hundreds of thousands of penguins on the Antarctic continent and nearby islands gather in tightly packed colonies, allowing deadly viruses to easily spread. Data from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research also showed one now confirmed case on a research base.