More than 1,300 elephant seal calves have died in Argentina due to an outbreak of bird flu. This is the first time such a virus has caused a large-scale death of this species of seals.
The dead animals were found last week on a beach on the Valdes Peninsula near the town of Puerto Madryn in the southern province of Chubut.Research confirms These animals died due to infection with the H5N1 virus, It also kills seagulls and other birds.
Typically, 1% of newborn elephant seals die. This year, due to the impact of the avian influenza virus, it is estimated to be 56% to 74%. Little is known about mortality in adult animals. The Argentinian chapter of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) noted that it is committed to preventing the spread of the virus between animals and people.
The world’s largest elephant seal breeding colony is located on South Georgia, a British island in the South Atlantic that is part of Antarctica. Last week, H5N1 infections were detected in birds. Tens of thousands of elephant seals are expected to become sick there as well.
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Virologist Theis Kuiken of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam emphasized in a statement to the Norwegian media, There is also a small chance that people will get sick, Because contact between humans and elephant seals is rare. “I’m particularly concerned about the elephant seals in South Georgia. There is currently no evidence that they can infect each other. “But it’s unlikely that all of the elephant seal pups that died came into contact with infected birds.”