Bird Flu Outbreak at Wildlife Center Claim the Lives of 3 Seals and a Fox

A rare bird flu outbreak in the U.K. has caused the death of three seals, five swans, and a fox at a wildlife rehabilitation center, as per a new report.

Bird Flu Outbreak

In late 2020, the outbreak occurred, surprising researchers since it is difficult for bird flu viruses to "spill over" to get mammals infected. Yet in this case, the virus was contracted by two dissimilar species of mammal, developing severe disease.

A genetic analysis discovered a single mutation in a strain of the bird flu, referred to as H5N8 that may have let the virus spread from birds to mammals, the authors said.

However, this mutation by itself hasn't been powerfully connected to infections in humans, and the authors discovered that the strain here doesn't seem to present a risk of infection for humans. Additionally, no human cases were detected in connection with the disease outbreak.

H5N8 Viruses

In their report, published on the 13th of October in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the authors wrote: "Although genetic analyses indicated no increased risk for human infection with the H5N8 viruses in this outbreak, the investigation shows how these viruses may have unexpected and severe health risks for mammalian species."

In conclusion, the discoveries further "highlight the importance of wildlife disease surveillance."

Bird flu viruses are usually dicovered in birds and spreading to other animals isn't that easy, including humans. But in unusual cases, it has been known that some strains of bird flu infect humans.

Strains including H7N9, H5N1, H5N6, and H5N8, which is the most recent was discovered in humans for the first time in February this year among staff at a poultry plant in Russia, as per Live Science prevous report.

How the Outbreak Started

The U.K. outbreak started when five mute swans - Cygnus olor - were taken in by the wildlife rehabilitation center in October and November 2020, as per the report, from researchers at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in U.K.

The center usually cares for ill, wounded wild animals as well as the orphans among them. The birds just like all animals taken in by the center, were first kept in a quarantine unit. The swans were getting better until they unexpectedly became weak and passed on during 25th - 29th of November, 2020, the report said.

About a week later, from the 5th - 6th of December 2020, a gray seal (Halichoerus grypus), four common seals (Phoca vitulina), and a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) at the facility also took ill and passed on.

The seals and fox were in the quarantine unit when the swans were there, but each species were kept in a separate cubicle. Before the death of the animals, the seals started having seizures and the fox became weak and lost its appetite, the report said.

Results confirmed all five swans had H5N8, but other birds at the center were not affected.

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