‘Highly pathogenic’ bird flu found in Puget Sound seals for first time

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.koin.com/news/washingto...lu-found-in-puget-sound-seals-for-first-time/

‘Highly pathogenic’ bird flu found in Puget Sound seals for first time
by: John Ross Ferrara
Posted: Sep 11, 2023 / 12:06 PM PDT
Updated: Sep 11, 2023 / 12:06 PM PDT

​PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A “highly pathogenic” strain of bird flu capable of spreading to humans and their pets was detected in harbor seals in the Puget Sound between Aug. 18 and 25, marking the first time that a marine mammal has tested positive for the virus on the West Coast, the National Marine Fisheries Service warns.

NOAA Fisheries published the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s findings on Sept. 8, stating that three adult harbor seals on Marrowstone Island tested positive for H5N1 — a virus that has plagued 58.7 million poultry and more than 7,100 wild birds in the U.S. since 2013.

“This marks the first incidence of [bird flu] in marine mammals on the West Coast,” NOAA Fisheries stated. “This discovery follows an ongoing [bird flu] outbreak affecting seabirds on Rat Island and Marrowstone Island since mid-summer. The outbreak resulted in the death of approximately 1,700 birds.”​...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...bor-seals-in-salish-sea-first-for-west-coast/

Deadly bird flu jumps to harbor seals in Salish Sea, first for West Coast
Oct. 5, 2023 at 6:00 am Updated Oct. 5, 2023 at 6:24 am​
By Lynda V. Mapes
Seattle Times environment reporter

Bird flu, already killing seabirds in the Salish Sea, has jumped to harbor seals in the first documented instance of marine mammals dying from the disease on the West Coast.

The deaths were confirmed in testing of five stranded seals on Marrowstone Island this summer and suspected in a seal that stranded in August, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration West Coast Region, which announced the cross-species jump.

Caspian terns were dying from the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza since July on Marrowstone and nearby Rat Island. The outbreak there has already killed an estimated 1,700 birds. The two islands are next to each other in northern Puget Sound; Fort Flager State Park is at the northern tip of the island.​..