Seals and other marine mammals are dying en masse in the South Atlantic due to infection with the H5N1 bird flu virus. Scientists warn of an impending ecological disaster. So far, more than a hundred animals have died.
South Georgia Island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean. Some time ago, scientists announced the mass death of animals in this region. Now a British group of virologists has found the reason. There, he confirmed the first cases of bird flu in seals and elephant seals.
– I saw about 20 dead elephant seals. Emotionally, it's almost as painful as seeing so many dead seals, said Marco Falchieri, a scientist with the Animal Research Group.
Bird flu symptoms
The animals showed symptoms of avian flu, including coughing, sneezing, discharge from the nose and eyes, and tremors. About 100 of them died on the island of South Georgia, mostly elephant seals, The Guardian reported.
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– My biggest fear is that there will be an acquired mutation in mammals, which we are not currently seeing in the new samples, but we have to keep looking. When it mutates, the virus may pose an even greater threat to mammals and thus increase the risk to humans, he stressed.
Experts sound the alarm
The first cases of infection with the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus in the region were reported in October in a brown skua. Two months later, deaths of seals, southern gulls and skuas were reported in other areas of South Georgia.
Experts sound the alarm. They believe that the further spread of the virus in the subantarctic region could significantly threaten the ecosystem, including the lives of large populations of birds and marine mammals.
ac / Polsatnews.pl