Staff from Peru's National Agricultural Health Service are being forced to collect dead birds on Lima's beaches, as approximately 14,000 pelicans, boobies and other seabirds have already died in Peru from the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus.

The current bird flu outbreak began in Canada and spread to the United States, where approximately 50 million birds have died, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

13,869 dead wild seabirds

Peru first declared a health alert when three cases of H5N1 were confirmed among pelicans. Since then, thousands of dead birds have been found in the country's coastal areas. The latest official report from the state shows that more than 13,869 wild seabirds have been killed by the dangerous H5N1 bird flu virus, reports the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR). Pelicans, boobies, Peruvian boobies and other birds have died.

Bird flu cannot be treated

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned South and Central American countries earlier this year to be on high alert to prevent the spread of the virus via migratory birds. Bird flu, which spreads naturally among wild birds and can also infect poultry, cannot be treated. Bird flu viruses do not usually infect humans, although rare cases have been observed.