The Scientist Regular surveillance and rapid sequencing in coastal wildlife help researchers identify viral mutations and assess their pandemic potential. The first sign that something was wrong came during a survey walk in Año Nuevo State Park, a stretch of beach along the central coast of California. In January 2026, researchers at the University of California (UC), Davis and UC Santa Cruz had noticed increasing numbers of sick marine birds in the area. Worried that influenza activity was rising on the coast, the researchers ramped up their surveillance for sick animals, which could indicate a viral outbreak.
Sure enough, on February 19 and 20, the team observed northern elephant seals experiencing tremors and seizures, and multiple recently weaned seal pups were dead. The researchers collected samples from the sick and dead animals and sent them to scientists at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). They confirmed that all of seals had been infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 that contained the E627K marker, which allows the virus to infect mammals, indicating its pandemic potential.