The appearance of dead pelicans on the beaches of the Arequipa region has generated an alert regarding the possible arrival in the south of the H5N1 bird flu (which is already in the north and Lima). The laboratory result is still awaited, although specialists agree that the spread of the virus is imminent and that the challenge is to prevent it from contaminating domestic birds.
The specialist of the National Agrarian Health Service of Peru (Senasa), Jorge Montoya, reported that the first notification of dead pelicans was last Friday, on the beaches of Atico, in the province of Caravelí. In the same jurisdiction, similar cases were later sighted in Lomas, Puerto Inca and, more recently, in Chala.
