Avian flu killed at least 750 pelicans found dead in the bird sanctuary in Djoudj, Senegal, after authorities initially ruled out the disease, scientific analysis showed.
The birds – 740 juveniles and 10 adults – were discovered at Djoudj’s national bird sanctuary on January 23, and the country’s environment ministry said on Wednesday that the site was closed to the public.
Now “we have the results of the analysis. In fact, it is bird flu type A H5N1 ”, said the director of national parks, Bocar Thiam, to Agence France-Presse.
Environment Minister Karim Sall confirmed the diagnosis of bird flu on RFM radio.
A mix of marshes, savannas, canals, marshes and lakes nestled in the Senegal River delta, Djoudj is home to more than 3 million individual birds of almost 400 species.
Thiam initially ruled out bird flu, claiming that it affected only grain-eating birds, rather than fish-eating birds like pelicans.
But the livestock ministry’s analysis refuted that theory.
Although the pelicans’ bodies and waste were destroyed, park chief Thiam said on Friday that “we will have to do more” to prevent the disease from spreading.
Earlier this year, Senegal culled more than 40,000 birds after an outbreak of bird flu was detected on a farm in Thies, in the west of the country.
Nearly 60,000 birds died in the previous weeks, the livestock ministry said.
Authorities now believe the cluster has been eliminated.
Senegal’s borders have been closed to poultry products since the avian flu epidemic in 2005 to prevent contamination, but the government struggles to prevent illicit imports from neighboring countries.
Several European countries are also experiencing outbreaks of bird flu, with 2 million animals – mostly ducks – slaughtered in France in December to try to keep it under control.