Nearly 9,000 sea lions, penguins, otters and small cetaceans have died in an avian flu outbreak battering Chile's north coast, the South American country's fisheries service said Thursday. Since the beginning of 2023, more than 7,600 sea lions, 1,186 Humboldt penguins -- an endangered species that breeds only in Chile and Peru -- and several otters, porpoises and dolphins have been found dead along the coast, the Sernapesca service said in a statement. The disease was present in 12 of Chile's 16 regions, it added, and announced the activation of "surveillance protocols" along the coast, including burying affected animals in a bid to prevent further virus spread. Since late 2021, one of the worst global avian influenza outbreaks on record has seen tens of millions of poultry culled, mass wild bird die-offs and a rising number of infections among mammals in several countries. In Cambodia, an 11-year-old girl fell ill in mid-February with a fever, cough and sore throat, and died … [Read more...] about Bird flu fells nearly 9,000 marine creatures in Chile