Media note Â鶹´«Ã½Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center's role in NOAA decision to step up probe of New England seal deaths

An Associated Press story - picked up by the, , Boston Herald, San Francisco Examiner and more that 20 other media outlets  -  reported  on The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Nov. 4, 2011 announcement that it is stepping up an investigation into the deaths of 146 harbor seals along the New England coast since September after samples of five of them tested positive for the Influenza A virus.

The stories noted that NOAA's national Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the New England Aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue Program and the Â鶹´«Ã½'s Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center had been involved in the investigation. Keith Matassa, coordinator of UNE's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center, has been coordinating the Â鶹´«Ã½Center's efforts in the investigation.

About the Â鶹´«Ã½

The Â鶹´«Ã½ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.