Avian flu reportedly killed dozens of tigers in captivity in Vietnam | Health News

Tigers at the resort in Dong Nai province died after feeding on sick chicken, with additional deaths reported elsewhere.

Dozens of tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in southern Vietnam, and subsequent tests have found cases of bird flu.

The country's health ministry said in a statement on Thursday that two samples of dead tigers at Mango Garden Resort in Dong Nai province tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu strain.

Since the beginning of last month, 20 tigers have died at the resort after being fed chickens, Phan Van Phuc, an official at the Dong Nai Provincial Center for Disease Control, said in the statement.

“It is likely that the tigers were infected by sick chickens, and authorities are tracking the origins of the chickens to determine the cause,” Phan said.

State media previously reported that a total of 47 tigers, three lions and one panther died in August and September at the My Quynh private safari park in Long An province and the Vuon Xoai zoo in Dong Nai, near Ho Chi Minh City be.

The animals died “as a result of the H5N1 type A virus,” according to test results from the National Center for Animal Health Diagnosis reported by the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on Wednesday.

No zoo staff who had contact with the animals experienced respiratory symptoms, the VNA report continued.

Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), an NGO focused on wildlife conservation, said there were 385 tigers in captivity in Vietnam at the end of 2023.

About 310 animals are kept on 16 private farms and zoos, the rest are in government facilities.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been increasing reports of fatal outbreaks in mammals caused by influenza viruses, including H5N1, since 2022.

The organization says H5N1 infections in humans can range from mild to severe and, in some cases, can be fatal.

Vietnam notified the WHO of one human death from the virus in March.

In Thailand in 2004, dozens of tigers died of bird flu or were killed on the world's largest breeding farm.