Bird Flu Kills Hundreds Of Sea Lions In Peru

(CTN News) – It was reported on Tuesday by Peruvian authorities that 585 sea lions and 55,000 wild bird flu have died as a result of the H5N1 bird flu virus in recent weeks, which is the latest report on the disease’s impact.

There have been a total of 55,000 dead birds found in eight protected coastal habitats, but rangers have found that the bird flu that killed them has also caused 585 sea lions to die in seven protected marine habitats, the Sernanp natural areas protection agency has said.

According to a statement issued by the Sernanp, among the deceased birds were a pelican, gulls of various types, and penguins.

The authorities announced that a “biological vigilance protocol” was to be implemented in the wake of laboratory tests which confirmed the presence of H5N1 in the dead sea lions.

As part of its efforts to prevent people and their pets from coming into contact with sea lions and sea birds on the beach, Peru’s National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) issued an advisory for people and their pets.

After previous outbreaks that affected wildlife, Peruvian authorities culled 37,000 birds at a chicken farm in December due to bird flu, following previous outbreaks that affected chickens as well.

In order to control outbreaks of Bird Flu, killing infected birds is an imperative part of the normal control protocol.

As a result of finding three cases of highly contagious H5N1 in pelicans in November, the country declared a 180-day health alert.

According to the SENASA agricultural health agency, the disease is transmitted by migratory birds from North America that come into contact with it.

This has been one of the most severe outbreaks of bird flu in Europe since late 2021. This has also been the case in North and South America.

These areas experienced severe outbreaks during this period.

There is a very low chance that bird flu will cross over into mammals, and it is even rarer that humans will contract the potentially deadly virus from birds.

Despite this, the virus has now been found in a variety of animals, including foxes and otters in Britain, cats in France, and grizzly bears in Montana.

There was a suspicion that all of these mammals had eaten infected birds before they died.

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