The wildlife of Antarctica is highly specialized. Although large animal species are limited primarily to penguins and seals, each species is often abundant. The high degree of isolation potentially protects Antarctic wildlife from diseases distributed in other areas of the world (1,2). Despite Antarctica’s isolation, however, human- or animal-related pathogens have been found there, or in the sub-Antarctic islands. For instance, serologic evidence of influenza virus A infections in penguins has been found (3), and both Salmonella spp. and Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been isolated from sub-Antarctic and Antarctic animals (4,5).
Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans worldwide; it is usually found in the intestinal tract of various farm and wild animals, particularly birds (6,7).We previously reported finding 3 C. jejuni subsp. jejuni isolates in macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus; Figure) from Bird Island (54°00′S, 38°02′W), South Georgia (1). Phenotypic tests and 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the penguin isolates were identical to each other, and macrorestriction profiling of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis fragments showed that they were very similar to fragments isolated from poultry in Washington in 1984 (1). Because the isolates were retrieved from macaroni penguin chicks, we concluded that the animals had acquired the infection locally and that this was likely an instance of introduction of a pathogen to the Antarctic region.
