SeaWorld Foundation veterinarian and technical director Juan Pablo Loreiro reported no sea lion deaths from bird flu in the Coast Party and asked people to be careful when walking on the beach.
In a conversation with Costa de Noticias, the professional detailed the situation in the area and explained how and where the problem occurred.
“Since the end of July, cases began to appear in a colony of sea lions in Tierra del Fuego in the south of the country. Since then, people have suspected the possibility of infection with bird flu. All the problems coming can be seen on the entire coast of Argentina.”
To this he added: “The latest cases have been filed in Necochea, Miramar and Mar del Plata. The animals in the outposts of these three cities are those with high traffic throughout the year, with animals migrating from one habitat to another. The situation in the habitat is common, which complicates the situation because of the high number of infections.
In any case, he clarified that there were no positive cases in La Costa. “SeaWorld Foundation has been called into an interdisciplinary team to address this issue and we are in constant communication with SENASA. So far no positive cases have been detected in Partido de La Costa, Villa Gesell and Pinamar. Residents of our town One can feel calm because there are no positive cases or symptomatic animals,” he confirmed.
Talking about the steps people have to take, he explained: “It’s important to focus on the symptoms. They go through two clinical pictures. It can be a typical flu picture, with a respiratory picture, or it can be a neurological picture, seeing the animals Losing touch with the environment, starting to twitch, turning the head to one side, it’s very impressive. Look at the pictures. That way people will be on the lookout for animals with these symptoms on the beach.”
Finally, he said: “This virus cannot survive in salt water and sand, it can survive in feces or liquids excreted by animals. There is no animal habitat in our area, for example, in Mar del Plata, it is advisable not to go near the ones on the beach. These habitats. In Partido de La Costa, it is important to avoid approaching animals, keeping a careful distance of more than 6 meters; You must be careful with pets, because they may become infected; put in the water, and they should not be manipulated; make sure to inform Marine Animal Rescue, they have the tools to process these images. Also inform SENASA, which is doing a very important job in this case.”