Increasing numbers of pathogens of human origin are being transmitted to indigenous populations and wild animals due to tourism in the Arctic.
Argentine biologists on a mission in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Ushuaia, southern Argentina, have captured some 150 rodents for analysis. So far, they have not found any long-tailed rats, the vector of the Andes strain of hantavirus, suspected of causing the outbreak on the polar expedition ship « Hondius ».
“Long-tailed pygmy rice rats thrive in the open-air landfills of South America. This is especially true in Ushuaia, where the garbage of 80,000 inhabitants is dumped, along with food waste from expedition ships shuttling between subantarctic Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula,” emphasizes Jacky Bonnemains. The spokesperson for the environmental association Robin des Bois points the finger at tourist ships departing from this “end-of-the-world” city because increasing numbers of viruses are being transported to the Antarctic continent by cruise ship passengers.
“In 2021, tourists were identified as potential vectors for the transmission of Covid-19 to Antarctic wildlife,” recalls Jacky Bonnemains. “Endemic species such as penguins and seals are particularly vulnerable, and the possibilities for containing these infected animal populations are nil.”
It is forbidden to lie down to photograph the animals.
While 120,000 curious individuals set off for the South Pole each year, a 2014 study published in the journal « Polar Biology » already sounded the alarm, estimating that « the risk of introducing human-caused pathogens is greater than ever. » « Wildlife is so fragile in Antarctica that we should enter it with as much discretion and caution as we would an operating room, » summarizes Charlotte Nithart, president of Robin des Bois.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators has issued strict recommendations for visitors setting foot on the white continent. For example, sitting or lying on the ice to photograph animals is strictly prohibited. « It is forbidden to approach within five meters of rare Antarctic species, but the emperor penguins of Snow Hill Island spread out across corridors trampled by shoes and potentially contaminated by sneezing droplets, » notes Jacky Bonnemains.
“The tourism industry brings with it a host of E. coli (fecal bacteria), salmonella, and other infectious agents, left behind by visitors during their stay or discharged by ships into wastewater,” the NGO laments. Some scientific studies have isolated viruses of human origin in penguins, Antarctic skuas (a species of seabird), black-browed albatrosses, and marine mammals.
The situation is no more enviable at the North Pole. « The Arctic is already polluted by industrial activities and the exponential development of tourism represents an ecological time bomb for populations, whether human or not, » laments Charlotte Nithart.
Author of an article entitled “Indigenous Peoples Facing Covid-19,” anthropologist Irène Bellier warns: “Through repeated exposure to these viruses, you and I eventually develop strong immunity, but when we look back at history, the greatest source of extermination for Indigenous peoples was influenza or measles, which were commonplace in our regions.” Living in the heart of the ice floes, far from major urban centers, is no longer a guarantee of protection. “In the Arctic, fewer and fewer Inuit and Sami live completely isolated from the rest of the world, and a single contact with someone from the outside is enough to be exposed,” explains the CNRS researcher.
Even polar bears are affected
However, interactions with tourists are increasingly frequent. “Cruise ships in the Arctic are operating for longer and longer periods and going further and further,” laments Robin des Bois. “Five icebreakers transported nearly 29,000 tourists and crew members to the North Pole in 2024.”
As in the Antarctic, these cruise ships discharge wastewater into the sea, sometimes contaminated with pathogens. “A review of zoonoses (infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans) in the Arctic showed that influenza B, of strictly human origin, could be transmitted to seals,” explains Charlotte Nithart. Upon reading the study, published in 2014 in “Polar Biology,” the environmental activist discovered that, due to climate change, which is causing the melting of the sea ice that predators need to hunt, even polar bears are affected.
