Category: Flu Virus

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Egg producing plant shut down after discovery of H5N1 bird flu – Voice of America – VOA News

April 4, 2024

A producer of fresh eggs in the United States has temporarily shut down a plant in the southwestern state of Texas after the H5N1 strain of bird flu was detected in chickens.

Cal-Maine Foods issued a statement Tuesday that it had destroyed about 1.6 million egg-laying hens and another 337,000 young hens, equaling 3.6% of its total flock, after the virus was detected at the plant.

The company said it was working with government officials at all levels and other industry groups to mitigate the risks of future outbreaks. The company said there is no known risk of bird flu associated with eggs, and that none have been recalled.

Tuesdays announcement came a day after Texas health officials announced that a person who had worked on a dairy farm with cows infected with bird flu tested positive for the virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said this is the first case of a person catching bird flu from dairy cattle.

A person in the western state of Colorado tested positive for bird flu in 2022 after he had direct exposure to poultry and the culling of birds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported an outbreak of bird flu in 11 dairy cattle herds across the states of Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters,

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Egg producing plant shut down after discovery of H5N1 bird flu - Voice of America - VOA News

Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow – The Week

April 4, 2024

What happened

A dairy worker in the Texas Panhandle developed a mild case of H5N1 avian influenza after working with infected cows, Texas health officials said Monday. The patient is only the second person known to have contracted this strain of bird flu in the U.S. and the first anywhere infected through mammals, The Associated Press said.

"Initial testing has not found changes to the virus that would make it more transmissible to humans," the CDC, FDA and USDA said jointly. "This indicates that the current risk to the public remains low."

The Texas patient exhibited only eye inflammation, but the case "has alarmed disease trackers monitoring for the worst-case scenario: human-to-human transmission," The Washington Post said. Bird flu has been spreading through wild animals and, since March 25, dairy herds in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico, so the jump to humans "really wasn't a question of if but when," UTHealth Houston's Dr. Luis Ostrosky said to the Houston Chronicle.

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The dairy worker is expected to fully recover. And there is no current plan to cull the infected herds, the USDA said. Pasteurized milk is believed to be safe.

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Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow - The Week

First Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas Confirmed, Following Infections in CattleHere’s What to Know – Smithsonian Magazine

April 4, 2024

A person has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu just days after livestock across four states were reported to be infected. Edwin Remsberg via Getty Images

Last week, officials announced that a number of dairy cows across 11 total herds in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, also known as bird flu. Now, the first human case of bird flu has been confirmed in Texas.

Whereas the livestock are likely to have contracted the virus through contact with birds carrying the strain, the infected person became ill after exposure to sick cowsmarking just the second human case of H5N1 in United States history and the first in the Lone Star state.

The patient is reportedly doing well and being treated with an antiviral drug, according to a statement from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Eye inflammationor pink eyeis their only current symptom, and they have been instructed to isolate to prevent further spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which conducted testing to confirm the single case, is not currently pursuing any further tests of humans who may have also been exposed, reportsSTAT News Helen Branswell.

We are not aware of reports that any of this individuals close contacts have developed any symptoms, Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, tells the publication. The fact that there are not other samples cooking right now is reassuring, insofar as that were not aware of other individuals who are symptomatic following an exposure to livestock.

The CDC remains vigilant in looking for others who report H5N1-like symptoms, though the virus presents no known risk to the public at large. Meanwhile, officials continue to stress that the milk supply is safe.

The cattle infections do not present a concern for the commercial milk supply, per the statement. Dairies are required to destroy or divert milk from any sick cows, plus pasteurization kills avian flu viruses.

Since avian flu spilled over into mammals, its potential to evolve and infect humans has remained a concerning unknown for scientists. Foxes, raccoons,sea lions, bears, minks and other mammals across the globe have contracted H5N1 and died. But up until last month, many scientists thought that livestock, such as dairy cows and goats, would not be susceptible to the strain. Now, it appears that mammal-to-mammal spreadfrom cow to cow, and potentially from cow to humanmay be more probable than previously assumed.

How else could it move so rapidly? Gregory Gray, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, tells the New York Times Emily Anthes and Apoorva Mandavilli. However, it remains possible that each cow independently contracted the virus from a bird, perhaps through contaminated food or water.

Officials say the virus has shown no signs of evolving in a way that would make it spread easily among humans, per the New York Times.

In the past 20 years, approximately 900 human cases of avian flu have been reported across 23 countries. Older strains were more aggressive in humans, but recent iterations have generally yielded milder symptoms and less frequent infections. In 2022, the first U.S. human case of the H5N1 strain was confirmed in a Colorado man working on a poultry farm. He reported feeling fatigued and later recovered.

With the new case, health officials maintain that it is extremely rare for the virus to transmit between people, though they continue to approach the situation with caution.

On the positive side, it seems like this was a very mild case, and its the only case thats been identified so far, Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the Center for Pandemic Decision Science at the University of Texas at Austin, tells the Texas Tribunes Neelam Bohra. But at the same time, it seems like theres quite a bit of this virus that has been detected in cattle populations. Anytime a virus jumps into a new species, especially a rapidly evolving virus like influenzawe need to be approaching it with the utmost caution and vigilance to make sure we really understand the situation.

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First Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas Confirmed, Following Infections in CattleHere's What to Know - Smithsonian Magazine

Texas bird flu: 1st human case of avian influenza in state also believed to be first linked to exposure to cattle, DSHS says – WLS-TV

April 4, 2024

The first human case of bird flu in Texas also appears to be the first in the country linked to direct exposure to dairy cattle, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported Monday.

Avian influenza A (H5N1) was identified in someone exposed to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza, according to DSHS.

There have been no reports of person-to-person transmission.

Texas Department of Health and Human Services epidemiologist Dr. Varun Shetty said they don't know how the cow got the dairy worker sick.

"That's still a question we don't have the answer to right now," Shetty said. "It's something that we're hoping to find out."

He said the CDC looked at the same to see if the virus had mutated.

"The good news is that it has not," Shetty explained. "It's the same strain that's been circulating among wild birds and backyard flocks that we've seen for some time now, and it hasn't had any new changes."

Despite the transmission, the agency said the risk remains low, and the virus doesn't spread from human to human. UTHealth Houston epidemiologist Catherine Troisi said if the virus did mutate, it could cause a concern.

"Influenzas are a particularly tricky virus," Troisi explained. "It mutates easier than even COVID does. We're keeping an eye on it, and hopefully, nothing will happen."

This is the second human case of H5N1 ever reported in the U.S., and the first was linked to cattle.

In March, U.S. officials said milk from dairy cows in the Texas Panhandle and Kansas tested positive for bird flu.

Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause bird outbreaks and infect people occasionally. The virus affects older dairy cows in those states and New Mexico, causing decreased lactation and low appetite.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the commercial milk supply is safe.

"At this stage, there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health," the USDA said in a statement in March.

At the state level, DSHS said it provides guidance to affected dairies about how to minimize workers' exposure and how people working with sick cattle can monitor for flu-like symptoms and get tested.

People with these infections can have symptoms ranging from mild, such as eye infection and upper respiratory issues, to severe, such as pneumonia and death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Texas bird flu: 1st human case of avian influenza in state also believed to be first linked to exposure to cattle, DSHS says - WLS-TV

American Contracts Bird Flu After Exposure to Virus Spreading in Cows – Yahoo Finance

April 4, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- A person in Texas contracted bird flu, most likely after being exposed to infected dairy cows, public health officials said, as an emerging outbreak among the animals spreads in the country.

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The risk to the general population remains low, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It is the second human case of bird flu, formally known as highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, in the US since 2022 when infections started gaining speed in wild and domesticated birds and other mammals.

The patient, who had no symptoms apart from red eyes suggestive of conjunctivitis, is receiving antiviral drugs and recovering, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The outbreak among dairy herds is relatively recent, with early reports of infected cows from Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Idaho. Unlike with chickens and other poultry flocks that are generally culled to prevent the spread of the virus, the US Department of Agriculture isnt recommending the destruction of infected cows at this stage.

The situation is rapidly evolving, the USDA said. The CDC is working with state health departments to monitor people and groups that may be at risk.

Read more: Bird Flu Found in Michigan, Idaho Cows as Virus Spreads in US

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American Contracts Bird Flu After Exposure to Virus Spreading in Cows - Yahoo Finance

Bird flu in the United States: First infected person and what you need to know – EL PAS USA

April 4, 2024

Texas has confirmed that one person has been infected with bird flu, a virus that until now had only been reported in livestock within the state. The case is a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus type A, also known as H5N1 avian influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to a press release, the patient has been treated with antiviral influenza medicine and has been asked to isolate to avoid further infections. The CDC states that this case does not change its assessment of the human health risk of H5N1 avian influenza to people in the United States, which it considers to be low. However, it points out, there are people who are at higher risk of becoming infected.

This is the second human case of this type of virus in the United States. In 2022, a case was reported in Colorado. Since late 2021, CDC has detected outbreaks of this virus in wild birds and poultry. The Department of Agriculture confirmed cases of the virus in cattle in New Mexico in addition to others in Texas, where the case of the infected person also occurred.

Avian influenza, or bird flu, is an infectious type of influenza that is transmitted between birds. Most strains of the virus cannot infect humans, but some, such as H5N1 which was identified in 1997 can infect humans.

According to the CDC, H5 avian influenza is common in wild birds in the United States and globally.

According to the CDC, human infections with this type of virus are rare but have occurred sporadically around the world.

There are some people at higher risk of infection such as farmers, hunters, and other individuals who come into direct contact with possibly infected animals.

Cases of H5N1 avian flu in the United States have had mild symptoms such as eye infection or upper respiratory symptoms, and severe symptoms such as pneumonia, which has resulted in some deaths in other countries.

Other symptoms may include fever, muscle pain, headache, cough, shortness of breath, diarrhea, stomach pain, chest pain, nose or gum bleeding, and conjunctivitis. These may appear three to five days after infection.

According to the National Health Service in England, patients with avian flu are treated with antiviral drugs, which can reduce the severity of symptoms, which in turn prevents complications and increases the likelihood of survival. These drugs can also be given to those who have been exposed to the virus.

If symptoms are more severe and have caused other complications, treatment may be extended.

The CDC has a help center on its website where they point out preventive actions such as avoiding direct contact with wild birds and observing them only from a far distance. It is also advised to avoid exposure to other dead or sick animals such as domesticated animals, including livestock, as well as organic residues or possibly contaminated materials. If a dead or injured bird is found, report it and do not touch it.

If they come in contact with an infected bird or other animal and develop symptoms, they should be isolated at home away from other household members and should not go to work or school until they are found to be free of infection. The local or state public health department should be notified so they can assist in offering help.

Likewise, it is advisable to eat poultry that has been properly handled and cooked.

Yes, there is a seasonal flu vaccine, which is recommended for anyone over six months of age, and should be given two weeks before exposure to possible infected birds. The CDC notes that this vaccine does not prevent infection but can reduce the risk of getting sick from both human and avian viruses at the same time.

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Bird flu in the United States: First infected person and what you need to know - EL PAS USA

Human bird flu case reported in US after contact with dairy cows – Euronews

April 4, 2024

Avian - or bird - flu is highly infectious but cases are generally uncommon in humans.

A person has tested positive for bird flu in the US, health officials reported this week, the countrys second human case.

H5N1 was confirmed in a person who had been exposed to dairy cows thought to be infected with the virus in Texas.

H5N1 is a type of highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu. While uncommon in humans, when a person is infected, the mortality rate is about 60 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Texas patients only symptom was eye inflammation or redness, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which confirmed the case.

The patient has been treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir which is marketed under the brand name Tamiflu.

This was the second human case in the US, with a person in Colorado who had direct exposure to poultry and was involved in culling infected birds testing positive in 2022.

The CDC said the risk of H5N1 remains low in the US, adding that people with prolonged, unprotected exposure to infected birds and other animals such as livestock were at a greater risk of being infected.

US officials had reported the virus was found in dairy cows in Texas and Kansas last week, with unpasteurised milk samples from sick cattle testing positive. They said it appeared to come from wild birds.

The officials emphasised that there was no concern about commercial milk supply with dairies required to send milk from healthy cows. They also use pasteurisation which is proven to inactivate bacteria and viruses.

Seasonal flu vaccines do not protect against H5N1, according to the CDC. The agency also warned that people should avoid unprotected exposure to sick or dead animals.

According to a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) report from last week, there have been some 888 cases of H5N1 reported in 23 countries since 2004.

The ECDC said that there have been six other cases worldwide this year in Cambodia and Vietnam with one death in each country.

The last European country to report cases of H5N1 in humans was the United Kingdom which reported four human cases last year. These were picked up through asymptomatic surveillance of individuals who were exposed to infected birds.

Between December 2, 2023, and March 15, 2024, there were 227 outbreaks in domestic birds and 414 outbreaks in wild birds across 26 countries in Europe, the ECDC said in its latest report.

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Human bird flu case reported in US after contact with dairy cows - Euronews

Here Are the Viruses to Worry About Right Now – TIME

March 23, 2024

As winter ends, several viruses are still continuing to rise across the U.S., according to data from WastewaterSCAN, a network of wastewater surveillance sites. Norovirus, one type of influenza, and another respiratory virus are all increasing or have recently peaked in samples from the network's 190 wastewater treatment facilities, which are located in 41 states.

What were seeing right now for the major viruses we are monitoring is that there are similar patterns across the country, says Marlene Wolfe, assistant professor of environmental health at Emory University and one of WastewaterSCAN's program directors. Were not seeing widely divergent patterns geographically.

When people are infected, they shed viruses in their excretions, and analyzing samples from wastewater treatment plants is an efficient way to get almost real-time information on whats ailing people in a given community. This type of data is especially useful when people don't get tested at hospitals or doctors officesand therefore aren't registered in official case counts.

In general, the samples are picking up fewer cases of COVID-19 and influenza A, the type of flu that tends to cause more serious disease. RSV rates have also been steadily declining. Those patterns are typical as winter comes to a close.

But these other viruses make it clear that sick season isn't over yet.

The so-called "cruise ship virus" is very contagious and responsible for just over half of all food-borne illnesses in the U.S. each year. Cases generally build from November to April, and this year, infections have followed that rising trend, according to the WastewaterSCAN data. Last year, cases peaked earlier, at the end of February, says Wolfe, but infections only started inching down in the past few days. However, norovirus does not tend to strictly follow seasonal patterns, she says, because food-borne contaminations can occur at any time of the year.

Read More: Here's the Best Way to Cure an Upset Stomach

The best way to avoid the diarrhea and vomiting that infections cause is to thoroughly clean high-traffic surfaces, such as kitchens and bathrooms, and for public facilities like day care centers and schools to follow those same practices. I remind people to use bleach if they have a norovirus problem, says Wolfe. Hand sanitizer will not remove and inactivate this virusit likes to stick around.

HMPV was identified relatively recently, in 2001, although scientists believe it has been circulating for half a century. It belongs to the same family of viruses as RSV and affects similar populationsolder people and younger childrenby causing respiratory disease. Improved testing methods have helped health officials get a better sense of how prevalent infections are.

Many doctors and health centers dont test for the virus, but wastewater sampling can easily detect it. Collection sites have picked up a sharp increase in the virus since late February, and levels have continued to rise, only recently starting their descent. Wolfe says that HMPV is a late bloomer, with infections picking up when flu and RSV drop, so its not unusual to see more cases in the late winter and early spring.

Read More: The New RSV Drug Keeps Babies Out of the Hospital

There is no specific antiviral treatment for the virus, but health experts say the usual habits of hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home if you have a fever or dont feel well can help reduce the spread.

There are four types of influenza viruseslabelled A, B, C, and Dbut the viruses that return every year and cause the most problems belong to the A and B groups. Influenza A viruses tend to cause more serious disease in people and are responsible for large outbreaks and pandemics such as H1N1 and H3N2, because of their ability to mutate and change their genes more quickly. Influenza B viruses are slower to mutate, but can still cause illness especially among vulnerable groups like older people and those with weakened immune systems.

While influenza A viruses are declining in nationwide samples, B viruses have continued to rise and have only very recently peaked, says Wolfe. Thats a different pattern from last year, when there was much less influenza B overall, and those viruses peaked earlier.

The good news is that the annual flu shot is designed to target both influenza A and B viruses, so most vaccinated people dont need to take precautions beyond washing hands frequently and covering coughs and sneezes. Getting a flu shot at this point in the season won't hurt, but it's not likely to be as protective as immunizations earlier in the season, since casesand therefore the risk of infectionwill start to decline rapidly in the spring.

Read More: This Is the Best Time to Get a Flu Shot

Even though it's late in virus season, for scientists and vaccine makers, the wastewater information is valuable; it gives them insights into which types of viruses to continue targeting in the shots, and how long any protection provided by the vaccines will need to last to reduce serious disease.

Wolfe is encouraged by the consistency and reliability of wastewater surveillance in tracking infectious diseases, and says more pathogens will likely be monitored in this way to help health officials better manage them. This tool has matured since we started doing research on wastewater and COVID-19 in March 2020, and its really exciting and gratifying to see how useful it is for individual and public health responses for a much larger suite of viruses, she says.

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Here Are the Viruses to Worry About Right Now - TIME

Influenza Activity in Shelby County | Shelby County Health Dept., TN – Shelby County Health Department

March 23, 2024

The data shared here is Emergency Department visits, outpatient visits and the number of positive flu tests from local providers.

Influenza like illness (ILI) is defined as: Fever >100 plus cough and/or sore throat, in the absence of a known cause.

Classification of ILI is based upon symptoms only and does not require testing.

Influenza is not a reportable condition, so any data collected is voluntarily provided by community members.

Not all Emergency Department (ED) visits published here are diagnosed as influenza; some are discharged with a diagnosis of rhinovirus, bronchitis, or other upper respiratory infection. This data is considered preliminary and are not confirmed diagnoses of the disease.

The ED data is retrieved from the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE-NSSP). Currently, 11 out of the 12 ED's in Shelby County submit data to ESSENCE-NSSP. Off-season ILI is included for baseline comparison.

Outpatient visit data is collected by the CDC's Sentinel Provider Network and reported to Tennessee Department of Health weekly.

Some local providers also voluntarily report the number of positive flu tests. This data is presented in a graph above.

For information about infection prevention, national activity or detailed information about the influenza virus, please visit the CDC Influenza page (link below).

For information about influenza activity in Tennessee please visit the TN Department of Health web page (link below).

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Influenza Activity in Shelby County | Shelby County Health Dept., TN - Shelby County Health Department

Bird flu is decimating seal colonies. Scientists don’t know how to stop it – ABC News

March 23, 2024

PORTLAND, Maine -- Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don't see a clear way to slow the devastating virus.

The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of millions of domesticated birds and spread to wildlife all over the globe. This virus isn't thought to be a major threat to humans, but its spread in farming operations and wild ecosystems has caused widespread economic turmoil and environmental disruptions.

Seals and sea lions, in places as far apart as Maine and Chile, appear to be especially vulnerable to the disease, scientists said. The virus has been detected in seals on the east and west coasts of the U.S., leading to deaths of more than 300 seals in New England and a handful more in Puget Sound in Washington. The situation is even more dire in South America, where more than 20,000 sea lions have died in Chile and Peru and thousands of elephant seals have died in Argentina.

The virus can be controlled in domesticated animals, but it can spread unchecked in wildlife and marine mammals such as South America's seals that lacked prior exposure to it have suffered devastating consequences, said Marcela Uhart, director of the Latin America program at the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis.

Once the virus is in wildlife, it spreads like wildfire, as long as there are susceptible animals and species, Uhart said. Movement of animals spreads the virus to new areas.

Scientists are still researching how the seals have contracted bird flu, but it is most likely from contact with infected seabirds, Uhart said. High mortality has affected South American marine mammals consistently since the virus arrived late in 2022, and birds in Peru and Chile have died by the hundreds of thousands from the virus since then, she noted.

The virus is still spreading and was detected in mainland Antarctica for the first time in February.

The deaths of seals and sea lions disrupts ecosystems where the marine mammals serve as key predators near the top of the food chain. Seals help keep the ocean in balance by preventing overpopulation of the fish species they feed on.

Many species affected, such as South American sea lions and Southern elephant seals, have relatively stable populations, but scientists worry about the possibility of the virus jumping to more jeopardized animals. Scientists have said bird flu might have played a role in the deaths of hundreds of endangered Caspian seals in Russia last year.

The loss of wildlife at the current scale presents an unprecedented risk of wildlife population collapse, creating an ecological crisis," the World Organisation for Animal Health, an intergovernmental organization, said in a statement.

In New England, scientists with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University found an outbreak of bird flu that killed more than 330 harbor and gray seals along the North Atlantic coast in 2022 turned out to be worse than initially thought. It's possible the seals contracted the virus from gulls by coming into contact with sick gulls' excrement or by preying on an infected bird, the scientists reported.

The U.S. government determined the seal die-off was an unusual mortality event attributable to bird flu. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared the event is over, but concerns remain about a possible repeat.

Marine mammals are still pretty unique in the scale of the outbreaks that are occurring, said Wendy Puryear, an author of the Tufts study. One of the connections is there is a lot of virus that circulates in coastal birds. A lot of opportunities for those wild birds to host the virus and pass it on to marine mammals.

Some scientists and environmental advocates say there could be a link between the outbreaks and climate change and warming oceans. Warmer sea temperatures off northern Chile decrease the population of forage fish, and that makes sea lions weaker and more susceptible to disease, said Liesbeth van der Meer, director of the environmental group Oceana in Chile.

Scientists and environmentalists are hopeful vaccinating poultry will help lessen the spread of the disease, van der Meer said, adding that it's also important for people to avoid potentially infected animals in the wild.

Authorities have carried out campaigns about the disease, strongly recommending to stay away from seabirds or marine mammals with symptoms or found dead in the coastal areas, van der Meer said.

Even seals in aquariums are not considered completely safe from bird flu. The New England Aquarium, where outdoor harbor seal exhibits delight thousands of visitors every year, has taken strict sanitation precautions to prevent transmission of the virus to its animals, said Melissa Joblon, the Boston aquarium's director of animal health.

Staff aren't allowed to bring backyard poultry products to the aquarium, and an awning protects the seal exhibit from birds that could carry the virus, she said.

We do know that its a risk for the animals that reside here, said Joblon, adding that none of the aquarium's seals have been infected.

The deaths of marine mammals are even more concerning because of mutations of the avian virus, according to a paper in the journal Nature Communications last fall. The mutations "warrant further examination and highlight an urgent need for active local surveillance to manage outbreaks and limit spillover into other species, including humans," the study stated.

Another study, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in February, found the bird flu virus has adapted to spread between birds and mammals. Researchers found nearly identical samples of the virus in dead sea lions, a dead seal and a dead seabird. They said the finding is significant because it confirms a multispecies outbreak that can affect marine mammals and birds.

More seal deaths could disrupt critical ecosystems around the world, said Lynda Doughty, executive director of Marine Mammals of Maine, a marine mammal rescue organization that responded to seals with bird flu during the New England outbreak.

You need this happy ecosystem. If were taking out some important species, what is the trickle down effect of that? Thats the million dollar question, Doughty said.

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Bird flu is decimating seal colonies. Scientists don't know how to stop it - ABC News

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