In Argentina, 220 flamingos died due to an outbreak of bird flu
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About 220 flamingos have been found dead in Catamarca province in northwestern Argentina due to an outbreak of bird flu.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bird flu is a deadly viral disease that is spread by wild waterfowl such as ducks, geese and swans. The virus can also infect other types of birds, such as poultry, CNN writes.
The infected species, known as James’s flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi), is one of three flamingo species native to northwestern Argentina. Birds spread the disease to new territories during migration.
The H5N1 strain initially spread from North America to South America via migratory birds within three months, according to Joanna Harvey, PhD, an environmental and technology scientist at the University of Maryland.
| PHOTO: Olga Tarasyuk/gettyimage |
“My fear is that many birds have the virus and continue to spread it and it is not going away” says Harvey.
She added that “the true scale of animal losses has not been documented because it is difficult to do so.”
Harvey added that one infected bird is enough to spread the virus to an entire flock in a matter of days.
In this latest outbreak of the virus in Argentina, Catamarca Biodiversity Director Anabella Ahumada confirmed the cause of death for hundreds of flamingos after 3 of 6 samples taken from the dead birds by the National Food Safety and Quality Service tested positive for H5N1.
It should be noted that James’s flamingo is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on the European Red List of endangered species.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the H5N1 bird flu strain has already spread to more than 2,022 countries. H5N1 is the most common strain, and there are also several subtypes of the virus because the disease is constantly mutating.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the H5N1 strain poses a low risk to humans, with 11 human cases of the strain reported worldwide as of December 2021. But experts are closely monitoring the spread of the deadly pathogen to other mammals, such as when more than 50 sea lions were found dead in Argentina in August due to infection with the virus.
Read also: Almost 2 thousand dead penguins ended up on the coast of Uruguay
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