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Mahesh

13/09/22 06:42 AM IST

First time, avian flu is seen in cetaceans

In News 
  • A bottlenose dolphin found dead in a Florida canal in the spring tested positive for a highly virulent strain of bird flu.
Eurasian H5N1
  • This version of the virus, which has spread widely among North American and European birds, has affected an unusually broad array of species.
  • But these findings represent the first two documented cases in cetaceans, a group of marine mammals that includes dolphins, porpoises and whales.
  • While experts emphasise that the risk to humans remains low, the spread of the virus to new species poses potential risks to wildlife and provides the virus with new chances to mutate and adapt to mammalian hosts.
  • Besides birds, the virus has earlier turned up in foxes, bobcats, skunks, and seals. 
Bird Flu 
  • It is a highly contagious viral disease caused by Influenza Type A viruses which generally affects poultry birds such as chickens and turkeys.
  • There are many strains of the virus:
  • H5N1 (since 1997)
  • H7N9 (since 2013)
  • H5N6 (since 2014)
  • H5N8 (since 2016)
  • Although H5N1, H7N9 and H5N6 don't infect people easily and aren't usually spread from human to human, several people have been infected around the world, leading to a number of deaths.
Source- Indian Express 

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