Ominous Wave of Dead Avian Flu Infected Seals.
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Topic: Ominous Wave of Dead Avian Flu Infected Seals.
Posted By: John L.
Subject: Ominous Wave of Dead Avian Flu Infected Seals.
Date Posted: September 03 2018 at 12:36am
Now being investigated, Avian Flu may have found its first full adaptation in mammals:
https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/article217736560.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/article217736560.html
Infected East Coast seals are washing ashore – and are a danger to people and pets, experts say
By Abbie Bennett
abennett@newsobserver.com
September 02, 2018 12:59 PM
Hundreds of East Coast seals are showing up, stranded on New England shores dead or sick.
Harbor and gray seals on the northern Atlantic Coast of the United States have tested positive for avian influenza, or bird flu, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries. Others have tested positive for phocine distemper virus, similar to the virus dogs can contract and which has caused epidemics among seals in other parts of the world, killing thousands, according to the National Institutes of Health.
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Harbor seals
NOAA Fisheries
Both gray and harbor seals can range as far south as the Carolinas, where they sometimes travel during the winter months and haul themselves onto beaches to rest and soak up some sun.
The seals that end up stranded but alive are “in poor body condition with clinical signs of lethargy, coughing, sneezing and seizing,” according to NOAA. As of last week, 532 seals had washed up on the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Of those, more than 400 were found dead.
Samples from those seals were sent to Tufts University and the University of California, Davis labs for testing, NOAA said. Samples tested “preliminarily positive” for either bird flu or the distemper virus. Four of the seals tested positive for both viruses.
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A young seal.
NOAA Fisheries
“We have many more samples to process and analyze, so it is still too soon to determine if either or both of these viruses are the primary cause of the mortality event,” NOAA wrote in an announcement Aug. 23.
Previous deaths of seals in the area also have been linked to both viruses, but the viruses have been present during years when there were not numerous deaths, according to NOAA.
“If you see a new sick or injured seal, please call the NOAA hotline: 866-755-NOAA (6622). Please be patient, as the stranding response teams are very busy,” NOAA wrote.
“For your safety and theirs, don’t touch a stranded seal, don’t allow pets to approach the seal, and observe the animal from a safe distance of 100 yards.”
Harbor seals can grow up to 6 feet long and weigh up to 285 pounds. They live to be about 30. They’re “one of the most common marine mammals along the U.S. West and East coasts,” according to NOAA. They eat mostly “fish, shellfish and crustaceans.”
Gray seals are larger — they can grow up to 10 feet and weigh as much as 880 pounds. They also live slightly longer, up to 35 years, according to NOAA. Gray seals have a slightly more varied diet than harbor seals, eating “fish, crustaceans, squid, octopuses and sometimes even seabirds.”
All marine mammals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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John L.
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Replies:
Posted By: carbon20
Date Posted: September 03 2018 at 4:25am
Canary in the coal mine,or in this case oceans........
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Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖
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Posted By: Dutch Josh
Date Posted: September 03 2018 at 7:13am
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/08/how-did-bird-flu-kill-162-baby-seals/260564/" rel="nofollow - https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/08/how-did-bird-flu-kill-162-baby-seals/260564/ related to H3N8 ? (This story is from aug 1 2012)
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~Albert Einstein
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Posted By: Albert
Date Posted: September 03 2018 at 8:22am
Even more ominous, as that the die off has been occurring the last two months (July and August) off the coast of a few states. So it's been spreading for awhile.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday it will investigate the "elevated strandings of harbor and grey seals in the Northeast attributed to disease." It said 462 seals have been found dead off the New England coast in July and August, with most off of Maine and others off of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
It said 462 seals have been found dead off the New England coast in July and August, with most off of Maine and others off of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/08/31/noaa-declares-seal-die-off-as-unusual-mortality-event.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/08/31/noaa-declares-seal-die-off-as-unusual-mortality-event.html
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Posted By: jacksdad
Date Posted: September 03 2018 at 1:02pm
A similar die off among harbor seals infected with avian flu happened back in 2012. Still a worry given how easily it's clearly spreading though.
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20120731/seal-flu-next-pandemic-threat" rel="nofollow - https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20120731/seal-flu-next-pandemic-threat
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"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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