Japan's Environment Ministry says seal carcasses in the country's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido have tested positive for a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu.



The ministry says this is the first time that the avian flu virus has been found in seals in Japan.



Ministry officials say four wild harbor seals were found dead on a shore in the city of Nemuro in eastern Hokkaido last Friday.



They say two of them tested positive for a highly pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus.



They also say this is the third time the virus has been detected in mammals in Japan.



The earlier cases involved two dead foxes in Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital. One was found in February 2023 and the other in April of the same year.



Officials say wild birds have been turning up dead since last month in areas near where the seals were recovered.



The Environment Ministry has designated those areas as priority zones for monitoring, and its officials are searching them for evidence of other wild bird deaths.



The ministry says the bird flu usually does not infect people and is only a risk for those who have close or prolonged contact with infected animals.



Ministry officials are asking people not to touch dead or sick wild animals, and to inform local authorities if they encounter one.