Walruses, seals and polar bears hit by mystery virus

Symptoms of a mysterious disease that has killed scores of seals off the Alaskan coast and infected walruses are now showing up in polar bears, the US Geological Survey has said.

Nine polar bears from the Beaufort Sea region near Barrow were found with patchy hair loss and oozing sores on their skin, the agency said in a statement.

Last summer, about 60 seals were found dead and another 75 diseased. However, there have been no deaths among the polar bears yet.