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Bird flu outbreak in California elephant seals prompts officials to cancel popular tours
Seven northern elephant seal pups tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, prompting park closures and canceled tours to prevent virus spread, researchers said.
- Seven weaned elephant seal pups tested positive for HPAI H5N1, confirmed Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory, prompting closure of Año Nuevo State Park tours until March 1.
- Heightened surveillance allowed researchers to detect abnormal signs on Feb. 19–20, after Roxanne Beltran said her team `ramped up monitoring` due to concerns about virus spread.
- UC Davis testing teams show about 30 animals have died at Año Nuevo Reserve, with weanling northern elephant seal pups showing tremors, seizures and respiratory signs; tests on about 30 more remain pending.
- California State Parks will refund reservations for canceled seal-viewing tours and has closed the viewing area, urging people to avoid touching seals or pets while coordinating monitoring with NOAA Fisheries hotline.
- Given past devastation abroad, including Argentina's 97% pup losses, the NSF Center for Pandemic Insights at UC Davis has scaled up surveillance with weekly updates and expanded monitoring of Piedras Blancas and Point Reyes National Sea Shore.
83 Articles
83 Articles
H5N1 confirmed in northern elephant seals in California
Avian influenza H5N1 has been confirmed in northern elephant seal pups in California, the first known cases in marine mammals in the state and in this species. On Thursday, UC Davis said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 after samples from seven sick and dead seals tested positive. The cases involve recently weaned pups at Año Nuevo State Park in San Mate…
Scientists move fast as H5N1 reaches Northern California elephant seals
Seven northern elephant seal pups at Año Nuevo State Park have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), marking the first confirmed cases in marine mammals in California and the first detection in this species. These early cases were quickly identified by UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis researchers who had already been vigilantly watching, anticipating the virus's steady march across species. — Read the rest The post Scientists m…
Avian flu detected in elephant seals; Central Coast officials monitoring local wildlife
For the first time, avian flu has been found in Californias marine mammals, and wildlife officials are working to contain its spread.Seven weaned elephant seal pups have tested positive for avian bird flu at Ao Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County.Christine Johnsons lab tested the samples before sending them to the National Veterinary Laboratory to confirm the results.They were displaying respiratory and neurological disease signs, so specifical…
California seal-watching tours canceled due to bird flu outbreak
Parks officials in California have canceled popular guided elephant seal tours for the remainder of the season and temporarily closed public viewing areas following a recent outbreak of bird flu at a state park. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed positive cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in seven weaned…
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