Forty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in southern Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media said on Wednesday.
The deaths occurred in August and September at the private My Quynh Safari Park in Long An province and Vuon Xoai Zoo in Dong Nai, near Ho Chi Minh City, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
According to test results from the National Center for Animal Health Diagnosis, the animals died “due to the H5N1 type A virus,” VNA said.
The zoos declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
No zoo staff in close contact with the animals had experienced respiratory symptoms, the VNA report added.
Education for nature Vietnaman NGO that focuses on wildlife conservation, said there were a total of 385 tigers living in captivity in Vietnam at the end of 2023.
About 310 are kept in 16 privately owned farms and zoos, while the rest are in government facilities.
The World Health Organization says that since 2022 there have been increasing reports of deadly outbreaks among mammals caused by influenza viruses, including H5N1.
It also says that H5N1 infections can range from mild to severe in humans and, in some cases, even be fatal.
Vietnam notified the WHO of a human death from the virus in March.
In 2004, dozens of tigers died of bird flu or were exterminated at the world’s largest breeding farm in Thailand.
In the United States, bird flu has been discovered in about 200 dairy herds in 14 states this year, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Avian influenza has also been found in commercial and backyard flocks and in wild birds.
Last month, health officials in Missouri said one inpatient was infected with bird flu despite having no known contact with dairy cows or other animals in connection with an ongoing outbreak. At the time, it marked the 14th person in the United States to contract bird flu since March, when the virus was discovered in cows, after infecting wild birds and mammals worldwide.
The says the CDC it uses influenza surveillance systems to monitor bird flu activity in humans.