Buenos Aires, 2 September (EFE) – Argentine health authorities have detected more cases of sea lions infected with bird flu in several locations on the country’s Atlantic coast, official sources reported on Saturday.
In early August, the first dead animals were found near the city of Rio Grande in the southern province of Tierra del Fuego, followed by cases in ten other colonies of sea lions across the province of Buenos Aires, Rione Gro, Chubut and Santa Cruz.
These sites were added in the last few hours to Puerto Madryn (Chubut) and Rio Grande (Rio Negro), where laboratory samples confirmed that sea lions found dead on the coast were infected with highly pathogenic fowl Influenza (HPAI) H5.
“These findings were made within the framework of surveillance operations and hygiene measures to prevent disease carried out throughout the country after the HPAI declared a state of emergency,” the National Service for Food Quality Argentina (Senasa) said in a statement.
Animals killed by influenza are buried to avoid any type of contamination or contagion to other animals or people.
The National Park Service decided this Saturday to suspend access to the Ilotolobos National Park, near the town of Playas Doradas in the Sierra Grande (Rio Negro), due to the confirmed cases.
The measure will remain in effect until the risk reduction identified by the Argentine health services is confirmed, the city of Sierra Grande reported.
“Avian influenza is a potentially zoonotic disease that is transmitted through indirect contact through vehicles, footwear, clothing or direct contact,” Argentine authorities said.
“Infected animals eliminate virus through feces and secretions, and feces are highly contagious; contact with humans can occur through the air or through mucous membrane contact,” they warn. Effie
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea/Development Bureau