Dear MARMAN colleagues,

I hope everyone is doing well

In collaboration with Ecuadorian/Galapagean and International colleagues, I am pleased to share our new Opinion paper on "Endangered Galápagos sea lions and fur seals under the siege of lethal avian flu: a cautionary note on emerging infectious viruses in endemic pinnipeds of the Galápagos Islands" published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science (Section: Veterinary Infectious Diseases) part of the Special Issus Research Topic Wildlife-Domestic Animal Interface: Threat or Sentinel?

The Galápagos pinnipeds are at a crossroads because of the multiple anthropogenic and environmental stressors, including marine pollution, fishing pressure, anthropogenic climate change, the El Niño events, and emerging infectious diseases, affecting the endemic populations of sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) and fur seals (Arctocephalus galapagoensis). The lethal H5N1 avian flu has emerged as a new threat to the Galápagos endemic pinnipeds. In September 2023, the H5N1 avian influenza affected some seabird species of the Galápagos Islands, where endemic pinnipeds are potentially facing the horizontal transmission of this lethal virus, highlighting the need to monitor and strengthen surveillance protocols and emergency preparedness to combat this emerging infectious virus in the southeastern tropical Pacific threatening the resident populations of Galápagos sea lions and fur seals, which serve as local sentinels of ecosystem health ("canaries in the coal mine") in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

Alava, J.J., Tirapé, A., Denkinger, J., Calle, P., Rosero, R. P., Salazar, S., Fair, P.A. and Raverty, S.(2024). Endangered Galápagos sea lions and fur seals under the siege of lethal avian flu: a cautionary note on emerging infectious viruses in endemic pinnipeds of the Galápagos Islands. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11:1457035. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1457035

This paper is an open-access publication available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1457035/full

 

Best wishes!