Avian Influenza: Senasa confirmed new outbreaks in sea lions in Necochea and Santa Cruz

The Senasa laboratory diagnosed this Thursday that the sea lions found dead in Necochea (Buenos Aires) and Puerto Loyola (Santa Cruz) are due to "new cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5".

The Senasa National Laboratory diagnosed "new positive samples for the disease, which were taken from sea lions (Otaria flavescens) found dead in the Port of Quequén, Necochea and in Puerto Loyola," they reported through a press release.

To date, four notifications in sea lions had been dealt with: the first two were negative; the third, detected in Río Grande, in Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, was the first positive case in this species; and the fourth, recently confirmed days ago in the Punta Bermeja Protected Natural Area, Rio Negro.

This Wednesday they took other samples of sea lions that turned up dead in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, and this Thursday in Puerto San Julián, in Santa Cruz.

Of these last two sites, the samples have not yet yielded results since the studies take about 48 hours.

As a result of the confirmation of the deaths in the local colony of pinnipeds, as a consequence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the southern breakwater of Necochea was closed.

spread of the disease

The hypothesis of the body in charge of animal health is that "sea lions contract the disease from sick wild birds", which release the virus with their excretions.

"In the colonies there is a lot of contact between seabirds and also with marine mammals, fecal matter is distributed everywhere," Melón said.

Although it has not been described worldwide that the virus is spread between marine mammals, the specialist maintained that "it is a matter of investigation, and we are working with other countries with the same findings to determine if there were mutations of the virus that are being transmitted from mammals to mammal".

Asked about the contagion of sea lions to humans, Melón denied this possibility and assured that "the few cases of bird flu that existed worldwide were linked to close and direct contact between people with sick birds."

However, the director of Environmental Health indicated that people, rescuers or wildlife personnel are being monitored, with possible contact with sick sea lions to verify that they do not present signs of contagion, and that "in none of the cases were found compromised people" so far.

For its part, the Senasa laboratory in Necochea remarked in a statement that, as soon as the situation was known, a few days ago, "the municipality of Necochea, in charge of Arturo Rojas, organized an interdisciplinary table in which different areas of the commune intervened, the Management Consortium of Puerto Quequén and the Argentine Naval Prefecture with a seat in Puerto Quequén, in an articulated work with the official agencies in charge to bring scientific, clear and precise information to the population".

From this action arose different measures aimed at controlling the health situation, such as taking samples from the animals found to determine the cause of their death.

All these findings and results were carried out within the framework of surveillance actions and sanitary measures that are carried out throughout the national territory for the prevention of the disease, detailed from Senasa.

And they added that "within the sampling protocol, together with the local authorities, the place for the burial of the suspected dead animals is identified to avoid any type of contamination or contagion from other animals or people."

In this sense, Melón highlighted the measures that are taken as soon as the suspicion of avian influenza appears: "It is notified in the first 24 hours, Senasa reviews the place and takes the samples. The dead animals are buried to avoid both contamination of the environment and in possible birds that come into contact with the dead animal, and the affected beach or colony is closed at that moment to avoid contact with people at that moment".

recommendations

For the general population, "it is recommended to avoid making contact with birds, not making contact with animals that appear sick and dead, or wild birds or marine mammals that can be found on the beach," he said.

Likewise, they reminded producers, institutions and the general public of the importance of notifying if high mortality of susceptible species, nervous, digestive and/or respiratory signs are identified in wild birds or commercial or backyard domestic birds.

Asked by Télam if this type of disease in marine mammals affects the animal health status, the organization assured that this does not happen and that Argentina "is recognized as a country free of Influenza