Ever since a deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1, killed some 17,000 southern elephant seal pups on South American coastlines in 2023 and 2024, researchers and public officials have kept an extra-close eye on California’s northern elephant seals.

The outbreak marks the first cases of HPAI H5N1 in marine mammals in California and the first detection in northern elephant seals. The disease decimated populations of a related species, southern elephant seals, in Argentina in 2023 .

Deadly bird flu found in California elephant seals for the first time: H5N1 bird flu confirmed in California elephant seals for the first time, bringing the same virus that killed more than 17,000 in South America.

For the first time, deadly H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed as the cause of a wildlife die-off in Antarctica, killing more than 50 skuas during the 2023–2024 summers. Researchers on an Antarctic expedition found the virus ravaging these powerful seabirds,

Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania convened a crisis response meeting this week to address a massive avian influenza outbreak in the state. Per state officials, nearly 7.6 million birds have contracted the virus thus far, causing major concerns for both the poultry industry as well as local communities with regard to the highly contagious virus.

In the past 30 days, 51 US flocks have been confirmed to have avian flu, including 23 commercial flocks and 28 backyard flocks. A total of 8.97 million birds nationwide have been affected. Scroll down to read more about the virus.

Scientists recently confirmed that a variation of the avian influenza virus is responsible for sea bird deaths in Antarctica. Researchers from Erasmus MC in the Netherlands and the University of