Norwegian authorities have confirmed Europe's first instance of bird flu in a polar bear in the Arctic Svalbard region. The H5N5 virus variant was also detected in a deceased walrus.

Norwegian authorities on Tuesday announced that bird flu has been documented in a polar bear for the first time in Europe, in the Svalbard region in the Arctic. The H5N5 variant of the virus was detected in samples taken from a male bear about one year old and a walrus found dead in mid-May on the icy archipelago, around 1,000km (600 miles) from the North Pole, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute said. “The results are part of a trend in which highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses are...