About 400 seals, including sea lions, have been found dead on the coast of Uruguay in recent weeks, the authorities announced on Thursday, attributing this tragedy to bird flu, AFP informs, Agerpres notes.
Since the discovery of the first case of H5 bird flu, on September 5, in a sea lion (ed. – seal-like mammal) washed up on Montevideo’s Cerro beach, the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries has been closely monitoring the epidemiological situation of these mammals marine.
This recent tragedy is attributed to bird flu, Carmen Leizagoyen, wildlife officer at the Uruguayan Ministry of the Environment, told AFP.
Of the 400 specimens stranded on the coast of Uruguay, 350 have already been buried to avoid the spread of the virus.
“We cannot control this disease. We just have to wait for the immunity of this population to take effect, but we don’t know when that will happen”, explained Leizagoyen, adding that the Uruguayan authorities are continuing the research to determine the origin of the infection.
The Uruguayan Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Agriculture and Fisheries declared that no outbreaks of bird flu had been detected in wild and domestic birds. He also stated that fish populations are not threatened.
In Uruguay, the total population of otters reached 315,000 specimens.
Bird flu is a disease with no cure or treatment. The H5 virus especially causes severe muscle, neurological and respiratory damage, AFP recalls.
source – AGERPRES
2023-09-29 22:00:21
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