Galápagos Islands tightens biosecurity as avian flu threatens unique species

Scientists confirm three birds have died from virus as park authorities redouble efforts to protect islands' endemic birds

National park authorities on the Galapagos Islands have heightened biosecurity measures to protect the archipelago's unique fauna from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza after scientists confirmed that three birds had died from the virus.

From preliminary tests of the five specimens, three of them have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza," Danny Rueda, director of the Galapagos national park told the Guardian. Two frigate birds and one red-footed booby were confirmed to have died from the virus on Tuesday, after samples were sent to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland for examination.