Humans could be at risk of a killer virus that has claimed the lives of thousands of marine animals in northern Peru, experts have warned.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 2,800 of dolphins have fallen victim to a virus similar to measles, in what could be the largest reported mass die-off.
Specialists from the US Marine Mammal Center confirmed the deaths were caused by ‘morbillivirus’. If this virus were to mutate, as happened in the case of bird flu, man could be in danger.
Butchered carcasses were evidence that local people may have eaten meat from the dead dolphins, further fueling concerns.
Earlier this week 538 pelicans, 54 boobies, and five sea lions were found on the beaches in various stages of decomposition, sparking fears that the virus may already be spreading between species.
Stefan Austermühle, director of NGO Mundo Azul, a non-profit organisation for the conservation of marine habitats voiced his concerns.
He said: As we have seen over recent years in cases like mad cow disease and bird flu, viruses definitely have the capacity to mutate and switch from one biological group to another.
“Given the fact that morbillivirus is a mammal virus and is related to viruses like measles there is a real danger that the virus might mutate and affect humans
“We must apply a precautionary approach to deal with the dead bodies of dolphins along the beach.”
He said: “The authorities have not taken precautionary measures to avoid virus infections, by incinerating the bodies of the dolphins and prohibiting their touching or consumption.
“Fishermen are taking dolphins contaminated with the virus home and eating them.”
Raul Castillo, scientific director at the Peruvian Sea Institute, said the virus leads to weakness and affects the autoimmune system.
“Animals with this virus have trouble swimming and feeding,” he said.
Infected dolphins, he said, get weak due to the virus’s effect on the respiratory and nervous systems.
“The Peruvian laboratories found an immune depression that could be caused by a virus, so we asked the United States to determine what type of infection it was,” he said.
Castillo said he did not rule out that the morbillivirus could have also been the cause of death of several hundred pelicans in the country’s northern beaches.