“A protocol was developed with coastal cities to bury dead animals in a safe place,” said the deputy environment minister.
Bird flu continues to spread along Uruguay’s coast after the first sea lion case was discovered this week. Although authorities have been implementing an epidemiological surveillance program, the disease has also been detected in penguins and even further west in sea lions in San Jose.
Environment Undersecretary Gerardo Amarilla said in a conversation with Telemundo that in recent days “affected sea lions and penguins have been found on our coasts.”
‘Contagion to humans exists’: After detecting bird flu, they urge not to approach sea lions; new cases expected
“There is a protocol in place with coastal cities to bury dead animals in a safe place. There is also a protocol advising people not to approach them or their pets,” he added.
Accordingly, Telemundo learned that the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries is committed to epidemiological surveillance tasks, which include swab testing of dead or symptomatic animals along the coast.
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So far, about 70 sea lion carcasses have been found off the coast of Rocha and Maldonado. At the same time, authorities also moved to the Isla Lobos and Cape Polonio natural reserves to closely monitor the situation and possible impacts in these areas, especially considering that Uruguay has the largest sea lion reserve in the Americas.
Meanwhile, the emergency committee of the province of San José reported on Saturday that in the past few hours, “dead sea lions were sighted in the Kiyú resort and Ciudad del Plata areas.” In all cases, the animals had been buried.
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