Deadly bird flu found in California elephant seals for the first time

The H5N1 vertebrate flu microorganism that devastated South American elephant seal populations has been confirmed successful seals astatine California’s Año Nuevo State Park, researchers from UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz announced Wednesday.

The microorganism has ravaged wild, commercialized and home animals crossed the globe and was recovered successful 7 weaned pups.

The confirmation came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s laboratory successful Ames, Iowa.

The decease toll truthful acold was not provided, but a property merchandise from UC Davis noted astatine slightest immoderate animals had succumbed. In astir wildlife cases, carcasses and insubstantial samples are sent to the USDA for confirmatory testing.

“This is exceptionally accelerated detection of an outbreak successful free-ranging marine mammals,” said Professor Christine Johnson, manager of the Institute for Pandemic Insights astatine the University of California, Davis’ Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. “We person astir apt identified the precise archetypal cases present due to the fact that of coordinated teams that person been connected precocious alert with progressive surveillance for this illness for immoderate time.”

In precocious 2022, the microorganism decimated confederate elephant seal populations successful South America and respective sub-Antarctic Islands. At immoderate colonies successful Argentina, 97% of pups died, portion connected South Georgia Island, researchers reported a 47% diminution successful breeding females betwixt 2022 and 2024. Researchers judge tens of thousands of animals died.

More than 30,000 oversea lions successful Peru and Chile died betwixt 2022 and 2024. In Argentina, astir 1,300 oversea lions and fur seals perished.

At the time, researchers were not definite wherefore bluish Pacific populations were not infected, but hoped erstwhile oregon milder strains of the microorganism had conferred immoderate immunity.

The microorganism is amended known successful the U.S. for sweeping done the nation’s dairy herds, wherever it infected millions of cows, dozens of dairy workers and thousands of wild, feral and home mammals. It’s besides been recovered successful chaotic birds and killed millions of commercialized chickens, geese and ducks.

Two Americans person died from the microorganism since 2024, and 71 person been infected. The immense bulk were dairy oregon commercialized poultry workers. One decease was that of Louisiana antheral who had underlying conditions. It is believed helium was exposed via backyard poultry oregon chaotic birds.

Scientists astatine UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis accrued their surveillance of the elephant seals successful Año Nuevo successful caller years.

“Given the catastrophic impacts observed successful related species, we were acrophobic astir the anticipation of the microorganism infecting bluish elephant seals for the archetypal time,” said Roxanne Beltran, a prof of ecology and evolutionary biology astatine UC Santa Cruz. With much monitoring, they hoped to observe aboriginal signs of abnormalities. Beltran’s laboratory leads UC Santa Cruz’s bluish elephant seal probe programme astatine Año Nuevo.

According to the release, connected Feb. 19 and 20, Beltran’s squad observed seals astatine Año Nuevo Reserve with “abnormal respiratory and neurological signs, including weakness and tremors.”

The squad collected samples from sick and dormant elephant seals and took them to UC Davis for investigating astatine the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System.

Año Nuevo State Park, conscionable northbound of Santa Cruz, is location to an elephant seal colony of immoderate 5,000 seals during the wintertime breeding season. About 1,350 seals were connected the formation erstwhile the outbreak began. Other ample California colonies are located astatine Piedras Blancas and Point Reyes National Sea Shore.

Public entree to the parkland has been closed, and guided elephant seal tours canceled.