Hundreds of seals die as epidemic hits Europe

A DEADLY seal virus is sweeping across the seas of Northern Europe and is threatening to match the devastating epidemic of 14-years ago that wiped out half the seal population in those waters, according to an international study released last night.

Scientific tests on the carcasses confirm phocine distemper virus, which does not affect humans, has infected seal communities in Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands, said the study published in the journal Science.

Populations had barely recovered from the 1988 disaster when the first seal victims were discovered in May. The disease spreads rapidly because seals travel hundreds of miles within a few days, and researchers said they found the identical virus from widely separated regions.