The fatal seal virus confirmed on the western coastline earlier this week appears to be spreading around the Galway Bay area. Up to 20 carcases of harbour seals have been reported over the past three days in the Connemara and south Galway areas, and scientists from NUI, Galway, carried out a further shore search at low tide yesterday.
The full extent of the disease should become clear within the next two to three weeks, Dr Jimmy Dunne, of NUI Galway's zoology department, told The Irish Times.
The morbillivirus infection has claimed the lives of thousands of seals in Europe, and last Tuesday the Galway scientists confirmed its presence on one of four seals found dead last month on the Aran islands. Since then, carcasses of harbour seals have been reported at Mannin Bay, Inverin, Spiddal and Barna on the northern shores of the bay, and at Kinvara in the south.
The virus affects both grey and harbour seals, and Galway has about 400 of Ireland's population of 2,000 harbour seals, according to Dr Dunne. One grey seal pup was found dead in south Galway, but this could be due to natural causes, he stressed. "Seals die of natural causes anyway, but the discovery of 15 to 20 carcasses over a short period is indicative of something more serious."
Testing for the virus was carried out for the scientists by Dr Seamus Kennedy, of the veterinary sciences division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland. Last week, Dr Kennedy confirmed that the virus had spread to the seal population in Scotland. About 15,000 seals have died in European waters in the past five months.
The last major seal epidemic hit northern Europe in 1988 and killed over 18,000 seals, including hundreds along the coast of Northern Ireland. The virus is not known to pose a risk to human health, but members of the public have been advised not to approach sick seals or carcasses which may be washed ashore during the current high tides. Dogs which have not been vaccinated against distemper should also be kept away as they could develop symptoms.
Sightings of carcases should be reported to either Dúchas (01-6473000) or the Irish Seal Sanctuary (01-8354370).
