New Flu in Baby Seals

[liveonearth]

Sounds like a bad joke, but it isn't. A H3N8 influenza strain has jumped species and killed at least 162 seals on the New England Coast. Seal pups under 6 months old were most affected by the pneumonia and skin lesions. Other marine animals, such as whales, may also get infected. The bird flu strains that have jumped to humans were H1N1 and H5N1. Nobody knows if the new seal flu is going to be able to infect humans, but it appears to be another bird flu that has traveled.