Seals In Maine Dying From Bird Flu

[DefiantMassRINO]

Could this be the harbinger of the next human flu pandemic now that it has jumped to a species of mammal in the United States?

https://www.poultrymed.com/Infectious-Diseases-2022

Infectious Diseases 2022
Seal deaths in Maine linked to avian influenza
6 July, 2022

Since June 1, 2022, Marine Mammals of Maine (MMoME) – a NOAA Fisheries authorized marine mammal stranding network partner – has responded to 40 stranded seals, most of which were found dead. On July 1, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories concluded that four samples from stranded seals in Maine have tested positive for H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). ...

https://fox23maine.com/news/local/high-number-of-seal-deaths-linked-to-bird-flu-feds-say

High number of seal deaths linked to bird flu, feds say
by PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated PressWednesday, July 6th 2022
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An unusual number of seals are becoming stranded and dying off Maine this summer, and avian influenza is to blame, the federal government said Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed that samples from four Maine seals tested positive for the virus. The animals all died or required euthanasia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. ...

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/recent-increase-seal-deaths-maine-linked-avian-flu

Recent Increase in Seal Deaths in Maine Linked to Avian Flu
July 03, 2022
NOAA Fisheries working with partners to determine the causes of death, and assess impacts.

Beginning in June 2022, Marine Mammals of Maine (MMoME)—a NOAA Fisheries authorized marine mammal stranding network partner—has responded to an elevated number of stranded seals. Most of the seals were found dead. On July 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s  Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed that samples from four stranded seals in Maine have tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1. All of these animals had recently died or required euthanasia. USDA is notifying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state animal and public health officials. The finding will be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health. ...

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/07/05/news/maine-seals-death-bird-flu/

Maine seal deaths may be linked to bird flu, feds say
by The Associated Press
An unusual number of seals are becoming stranded and dying off Maine this summer, and avian influenza is to blame, the federal government said Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed that samples from four Maine seals tested positive for the virus. The animals all died or required euthanasia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

[Kamaji]

So, "four" counts as an "unusual number" these days?

[DefiantMassRINO]

There's a statistical increase when compared with the mean.

The avian flu is killing sea birds in large numbers in Casco Bay, Maine, and Martha's Vineyard.

The avian flu in stranded Maine seals is a recent finding.

The avian flu has jumped from birds to multiple species of seals, which are mammals.  This brings the virus closer to jumping to humans and other mammalians, such as cattle and hogs.

When birds start migrating south for the Winter, they could infect more domestic poultry flocks, and who knows what else.

NOAA, USDA, and CDC are monitoring it.

[Kamaji]

There's a statistical increase when compared with the mean.

The avian flu is killing sea birds in large numbers in Casco Bay, Maine, and Martha's Vineyard.

The avian flu in stranded Maine seals is a recent finding.

The avian flu has jumped from birds to multiple species of seals, which are mammals.  This brings the virus closer to jumping to humans.

When birds start migrating south for the Winter, they could infect more domestic poultry flocks, and who knows what else.

NOAA, USDA, and CDC are monitoring it.

That still doesn't mean that "four" is a meaningful number.

[DefiantMassRINO]

The significance is not the number.  The significance is that the avian flu jumped from avian species (birds) to a mammalian species (seals).  It's one evolutionary step closer to infecting humans and livestock.

Covid-19/SARS2 started with a couple of "pneumonia" cases in Wuhan during late Autumn, 2019.  Possibly even started with 4 infected workers cleaning a mineshaft in Yunan province, China, in 2012.  It presumably jumped from bats (to an intermediary mamalian species and?) to humans.

The 1918 Spanish Flu started with one infected man from a Kanasas farm.

SARS1 evolved in bats, jumped to civets, then to humans.  It was contained before it evolved to become even more transmissible among humans.

In the early 2010's, Ebola jumped from bats to a few humans in West Africa.  This eventually led to a handful of human infections in the United States.

If the avian flu that is currently circulating along the south and central coasts of New England can jump to seals, what other mammalian species could it jump to?  New England shorelines are populated with mammalian scavenger species such as coyotes, racoons, rats, feral cats, and possum.  If one of those species comes into close contact with an infected seal, dead or alive, that species could become a new vector for virus spread, evolution, and eventual jump to humans and livestock.

This development needs to be closely monitored by NOAA, USDA, and CDC.  It could be an emerging health and economic threat to humans.  If adequately monitored and contained, it will become a forgotten anomaly.  If not, anything is possible.

[jmyrlefuller]

I'd argue that the currently high rates of flu transmission during the summer are an indication that it already has jumped to humans. Influenza is an airborne virus. It's not like it picks one animal and sticks solely to that species. If it's in the air, humans can catch it.