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Source: The post is based on the article “Dolphin, porpoise: First time, avian flu is seen in cetaceans” published in Indian Express on 10th September 2022.
What is the News?
A bottlenose dolphin found dead in a Florida canal had tested positive for a highly virulent strain of bird flu known as Eurasian H5N1.
Earlier, officials had also reported that they had found the same type of avian influenza in a stranded porpoise in Sweden.
These are the first two documented cases in cetaceans, a group of marine mammals that includes dolphins, porpoises and whales.
What is Eurasian H5N1?
Eurasian H5N1 is a strain of bird flu.
This flu has spread widely among North American and European birds and has affected an unusually broad array of species.
The risk of transmission to humans remains low. But 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.
