ByBoris Ngounou- Published onFebruary 3 2021/ Modified onFebruary 3 2021

The Mauritanian government has just issued an alert on an outbreak of bird flu in the Diawling National Park. During a biodiversity monitoring of the park, the park curator discovered the carcasses of 245 pelican chicks and a dozen adults of the same species. And according to laboratory tests, these wild birds were victims of bird flu.

The Mauritanian Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development has ordered the closure of Diawling National Park until further notice. The protected area located 195 km south of Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, has been infected by the bird flu virus. This is revealed by the results of laboratory tests carried out on a sample of the 267 pelicans found dead in the park and its surroundings.

In a press release issued on January 30^th, 2021, the Mauritanian Minister of…