More than two dozen elephant seals have tested positive for avian influenza since the outbreak at Año Nuevo State Park on the San Mateo County coast began in February, according to an update from UC Davis released Monday. One sea otter and two California sea lions have also tested positive after being found dead in the area.
Research teams discovered the outbreak of influenza A subtype H5N1 immediately after seven northern elephant seal pups were found dead or sick on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 at the state park, UC Davis said. Since then, a total of 27 elephant seals have tested positive.