They report possible transmission hypotheses from Senasa and differences from previous outbreaks in other regions. They restricted beaches and urged precautions. How it affects sea lions and why they cannot be euthanized.
Buenos Aires Mayor Blatovic Spa, Necochea Beach, Mar del Plata Beach, Clara Romeco Beach and San Blas Beach. Rio Grande in Tierra del Fuego. Located in the natural reserve of Punta Bermeja and San Antonio Este in the Rionegro. Punta Loyola in Santa Cruz and Puerto Piramides in Chubut. Map of Argentina’s coast is dotted with confirmed sea lion deaths from bird flu.
“This wolf can reach Antarctica. We get a lot of notifications. As of Wednesday, there are 15 cases, 11 of which have tested positive,” he said. Veterinarian Vicente Rea Pidcova from the Poultry Health Program It is part of the National Animal Health Service of the National Agri-Food Hygiene and Quality Service (Senasa). Until the last few hours, the number of dead samples was “about 145”.
The spread of cases and affected areas came in the same week that Argentina announced the resumption of poultry meat exports to the EU, The program was discontinued in February due to the detection of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). «In the commercial part, it’s over (broken). This can happen again if there is any failure, any breach of farm biosecurity measures. We are still a country considered bird flu free. But that doesn’t mean we’re exempt, Rea Pidcova clarified.
The main hosts of avian influenza are Anatidae, Anseriformes and waterfowl. “In Argentina, there have been cases of Andean geese, coots, black-necked swans, kelp gulls and giant ducks, in addition to a never-diagnosed case. it’s all about aquatic“, the veterinarian details. The H5N1 variant A virus detected in the “singing fur seal” is a subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
At the end of 2022, the first wild birds from South America will be recorded in Peru. In Argentina, the first confirmed cases arrived in the Lagunas de Pozuelos natural area in the province of Jujuy in February.
There are different hypotheses about how contagion and transmission occur. “It is a mobile mammal. In other countries, the virus spread to cats, foxes and dolphins. One of the reasons may be the direct cause, that is, the consumption of infected birds with a higher viral load. But there is no Verify.”
Photo: Diego Izquierdo/Telam
it may also be through hint,This will be environmental“Waterfowl live with these mammals and shed the virus in their feces.”
So far, there are no cases of transmission to other mammals being studied in the country. “When these outbreaks started in South America, the virus was found to be more pathogenic than in other areas where the outbreaks occurred,” the expert compared. This difference meant “more deadly cases, leading to faster deaths. “.
question about possibility Human bird flu outbreak draws attentionEspecially after the epidemic. For Rea Pidcova, the risk is “low”, This does not remove the need to “take precautions”.
“Since 2014, three human infections have been recorded in the United States: the United States, Chile, and Ecuador. The percentage is lower due to the location of the virus. For infection to occur, it must occur in the lower respiratory tract, which is the receptor for the influenza virus. But the virus is more found in high altitude areas, where it cannot survive. The risk is low, but precautions must be taken to avoid adaptation to humans.
This week, movement was restricted at certain beaches following the case. And a warning not to bring pets to these areas. There is precedent: In Poland, the virus caused an outbreak in cats. “Domestic cats have a high mortality and sacrifice rate. The purpose of these restrictions is to reduce the risk of transmission to other species,” the veterinarian said.
He clarified that sea lion sacrifices cannot be performed: «Wild animals cannot be sacrificed. No euthanasia, no sacrifice. We have no intervention in this and the population is also very spread out, we have no control over it.