OREANDA-NEWS  The Rosselkhoznadzor reported that it had not detected avian influenza and other infectious diseases in seals killed on the Caspian Sea coast, the service reports.

Approximately 2.5 thousand dead seals were found in the coastal strip of the Caspian Sea in Dagestan in December 2022. The Rosselkhoznadzor instructed the specialists of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Federal Center for Animal Health Protection" (FGBI "VNIIZH") to find out the cause of the mass death of animals.

"The patmaterial was tested by PCR for the presence of influenza viruses of type A and subtype H5, rabies, adeno-, parvo-, morbili-, capripox- and orthopoxviruses, SARS-CoV-2, as well as pathogens of pasteurellosis, mycoplasmosis, clostridiosis, chlamydia and brucellosis," the report says. - As a result of the research, the listed diseases that can occur in the form of epizootics and cause the death of animals and birds are completely excluded."

On January 24, Dagestan State University, with reference to the Institute of Ecology and Sustainable Development, reported that the preliminary cause of death of seals could be avian influenza. Rosselkhoznadzor does not confirm this version.

Rosprirodnadzor previously called suffocation the alleged cause of death of seals. In December, scientists put forward a version about the natural causes of the death of animals, since the condition of the internal organs of the seals studied did not confirm the hypothesis about their poisoning with heavy metals or pesticides.

The Caspian seal, or Caspian seal, is listed in the Red Book. This is the only species among its kind that lives in the Caspian Sea. Due to the constant production in the recent past, the number of seals has sharply decreased, and now the Caspian seal is under threat of complete extinction.