Nearly 3,500 sea lions die of bird flu in Peru – 03/03/2023 – Environment

Armed with masks and biosafety suits, biologists are collecting samples from sea lions in Peru in the face of an outbreak of bird flu that could have killed 3,487 specimens of the species in protected areas since November, when authorities confirmed infections in these marine mammals , but without displaying numbers.

In images shared this Friday (3) by the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp), it is possible to see specialists introducing huge swabs into the nostrils of the animals, on the banks of the Paracas nature reserve, about 270 km to the south. from Lima.

“Sernanp reports sea lions affected by avian flu and continues with a surveillance and monitoring plan for protected natural areas,” the agency said in a statement.

Dependent on the Ministry of the Environment, Sernanp has found, since November, 3,487 South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) killed in seven coastal natural areas.

The figure represents 3.29% of the 105,000 individuals registered in Peruvian territory, according to statistics from the environmental authority.

The bodies of the sea lions were found in a wide area of ​​the Peruvian coast, which includes the north, central and south coasts of the country. There is also a record of 63,000 birds killed by avian flu between November 2022 and March of this year.

The most affected bird species are boobies, pelicans and cormorants, followed by the monk’s gulls, southern gulls, Belcher’s gulls and gray gulls.

This virus is affecting countries like Bolivia, Uruguay and Argentina. Recently, reports of deaths of animals with symptoms similar to those found in Peru and diagnosed as avian flu in northern Chile were published, according to Sernanp.

The Peruvian agency asked the population to “avoid any type of contact with sea lions and sea birds that come out or are on beaches and rocky areas”.

Peru issued a 180-day health alert at the end of November after confirming three cases of H5N1 bird flu, which is highly contagious among pelicans.

The virus, which arrived via migratory birds from North America, can spread in “poultry (turkeys, ducks, chickens and roosters)” and commercial farms.

In December, Peruvian health authorities euthanized around 37,000 poultry on a farm after confirming that they were infected with the H5N1 virus.

Avian flu is a disease that has no cure or treatment, and causes high mortality in wild and domestic birds such as ducks, chickens and turkeys, among others.