Friedrichskoog in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
#17,576
While this is hopefully an isolated infection, but authorities are not taking any chances. The press release from the state follows.
(translated)
#17,576
We've a press release form the Schleswig-Holstein state government website this morning announcing laboratory results on a dead seal found at the Friedrichskoog seal station on the Wadden Sea.
So far only one seal has tested positive, but hundreds of seals are being rehabilitated at this facility, and additional testing is ongoing.
This is not the first time we've seen HPAI H5 in seals in this region. Back in 2021 it was widely reported that a small number of seals in that area had succumbed to HPAI H5N8 (see Germany: Media Reports of Dead Seals Found Infected With Avian H5N8), which we followed up with Two Reports On HPAI H5N8 Infecting Marine Mammals (Denmark & Germany) in 2022.
Seals and other marine mammals have a long history of being affected by avian flu, and we've seen massive die-offs of seals in New England, Canada, and in South America, due to the recently emerged clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 virus.
While this is hopefully an isolated infection, but authorities are not taking any chances. The press release from the state follows.
(translated)
LAST UPDATE: 07/25/2023
KEEL. The avian influenza virus was found in a dead seal in the Friedrichskoog seal station in the Dithmarschen district. On Friday (July 21) , the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut ( FLI ) confirmed an infection with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of the H5N1 subtype after the Schleswig-Holstein state laboratory had detected H5.
A sporadic spread of avian influenza viruses to mammals has already been observed in the past. This affected carnivorous land animals and marine mammals worldwide – including foxes, otters, common seals and other seals, which are believed to have contracted the disease from ingesting dead infected wild waterfowl or from contact with infected wild birds.
After the H5 detection, samples were taken from all the seals being rehabilitated in the immediate vicinity of the sick animal and submitted for analysis - all findings so far have been negative. The ward was informed of the finding and the usual occupational safety measures are being implemented. The seal station is open regularly, operations continue as normal.
Background:
The highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as avian influenza, which must be reported and controlled in the case of kept birds and wild birds, can in some cases cause serious illnesses with mass deaths in these animals.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was detected in three dead seals from the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea as part of the 2021/2022 avian influenza event. In March 2023, the virus was detected in a gray seal from the seal sanctuary. In addition, the virus was found as an incidental finding in a fox from an animal park.
For more information, see:
Information from the state government:avian influenza
Information from the FLI :Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
