Brazil authorities scramble to isolate bird flu virus that killed 900 seals, sea lions

Since Brazil’s first report of HPAI in wild birds in May, the Agriculture Ministry says preventive measures have avoided an outbreak on commercial poultry farms, which could trigger export bans against Brazil, the world’s top chicken exporter.

But the virus has run rampant in other animal populations. In addition to the outbreaks among seabirds, seals and sea lions, authorities have collected samples of dead porpoises and penguins found on beaches, with no confirmed results yet.

Botta said the first diagnosis of HPAI-related sea mammal deaths in Rio Grande do Sul came in September, when unusual mortality rates caught scientists’ attention. Three towns in the state still have active outbreaks.

Researchers collect organic material from a dead porpoise on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, during an outbreak of Bird Flu, in Brazil. Photo: Reuters

She said the contagion among sea mammals appears to have started in Peru and then circled the South American continent, hitting wildlife in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and now Brazil.

Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry reported 148 HPAI outbreaks in the country, mostly along the coast, declaring a health emergency to contain the disease, which it says “is not yet considered endemic in Brazil.”

Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of farm animals in Europe and the United States.

Темы и теги

Бразилия Природа и Погода

птица птичий Министерство сельского хозяйства вирус грипп лев морской hpai власть бразилия