Bird Flu May Have Caused Seal Strandings

The spike in seal strandings in Maine may be linked to the strain of bird flu that has hit poultry and birds this year.

Four seals that died or were sick enough to need to be euthanized had their samples tested.

Birds are mostly affected by the strain of H5N1. After spreading through Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the virus arrived in North America late last year and quickly spread to commercial poultry farms.

The recent outbreak of the latest version of the virus has taken a toll on the birds. That endangers scavengers that feed on birds. The virus has been found in a number of mammals in North America.

The first marine mammal that we have seen on the end is the seal. Bird flu moves into mammals on occasion.

A group that responds to reports of stranded sea creatures began to notice an increase in the number of seals that were stranded. The gray and harbor seals were found stranded in Maine.

There were many dead seals. The current rate of dead seal strandings is three times higher than usual. There were other stranded seals that were sick. There have been reports of people having seizures in fox kits with avian flu.

The executive director of the organization said that samples from eight stranded seals were sent to the university. The four positive tests were for the virus.

Most of the strandings have taken place in mid- to southern Maine. There is a chance that this could spread across our coast as live animals move.

Other mass stranding events among marine mammals have been caused by different types of Viruses. The seals are thought to catch the virus after eating birds.

Some versions of the flu can be passed on to other seals. There is no evidence that this has happened in Maine according to Bryan Richards.

He doesn't think there is any evidence to suggest that each animal is anything other than a dead end host.

The risk to humans remains low despite the fact that mammals are more likely to spread the virus. Some versions of bird flu that have been isolated from seals have shown signs of adapting to mammals.

Similar versions of bird flu tend to last longer in the summer. It is not yet known if that will happen this year.

People and their pets should stay away from seals and other marine mammals and report them to the local wildlife authorities.