A powerful strain of the avian flu has swept through seal colonies in southern Argentina, wiping out many juveniles and raising concern about a spread to other species. The flu, also known as H5N1, appeared in South America in early 2023 and made its way to Patagonian Argentina by August, resulting in extreme mortality among newborn elephant seals. This year, environmental groups are rushing to learn more about the disease and what can be done to prevent it from spreading to other parts of the ecosystem. “There’s no precedent for a mortality from a highly pathogenic avian influenza like this [in Patagonia],” said Julieta Campagna, who runs coastal protected area monitoring for the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Argentina. “When we first started recording cases, it was mostly seals. Then we started to worry what would happen to other species.” Cases were first detected in South American terns (Sterna hirundinacea) before moving onto sea lions (Otaria flavescens), fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) and southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina). H5N1 is present in the provinces of Tierra del Fuego, Santa Cruz, Buenos Aires and Chubut, according to Argentina’s National Food Safety and Quality Service. Many scientists were surprised that the disease jumped from birds to mammals, especially since seals don’t feed on terns. Dead elephant seals on a beach in Argentina. (Photo by Maxi Jonas/WCS) Elephant seals were hit the hardest. On the Valdés Peninsula in Chubut, the mortality rate of newborn elephant seals was believed to be as high as 96%…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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