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The simultaneous death of more than 600 sea lions from bird flu in Peru again raises the question of how the virus of this dangerous disease spreads, BTA reports, citing the Spanish newspaper El Pais. 

It is assumed that the infection can be transmitted between mammals.

"If only a few sea lions hunting sick birds had become infected and died, there would be nothing strange," says Argentine biologist Sergio Lambertucci.

"But all 600 marine mammals cannot be infected by birds."

Slovakia and Nepal have reported outbreaks of bird flu on farms

"It is more likely that (the virus) was transmitted directly among the sea lions," is the opinion of Dutch epidemiologist Tees Kuiken.

On January 27, about a hundred other marine mammals, also victims of the bird flu, were found off the coast of one of the Peruvian islands, which confirms this assumption.

Pending a final decision on the matter, Peruvian authorities have urged citizens not to approach wild animals, as such contact could lead to transmission of the virus to humans.

Bird flu is an acute infectious viral disease that affects the digestive and respiratory organs of birds and leads to the death of birds.

Carriers are usually wild specimens. 

Europe is experiencing its most devastating bird flu outbreak to date, with more than 50 million poultry killed in one year.

In early February, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the recent sharp increase in H5N1 bird flu cases in mammals warrants close monitoring, but the risk to humans is considered low.

At the same time, scientists fear that there will be mutations in the virus that could cause a pandemic in humans. 

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