Tigers who contracted bird flu in parks and zoos in southern Vietnam were cremated before being buried.
Animals fed raw chicken
Since August, the virus bird flu H5N1 caused the death of 47 tigers in wildlife parks located south of Vietnam. Local authorities also count three lions and a panther among the victims. According to the Vietnam News Agencythese deaths concern animals from the My Quynh private park, in Long An province, as well as the Vuon Xoai zoo, near Ho Chi Minh City. Analyzes carried out by the National Center for Animal Health confirmed that these tigers and felines died after contracting the H5N1 type A virus. The contamination appears to be linked to their diet. The animals were fed raw chicken from local farms, a practice that would have allowed the transmission of the virus, reports BFMTV.
Tigers placed in isolation
Nguyen Ba Phuc, director of Vuon Xoai Zoo, described the state of tigers before their death. They “died very quickly. They appeared weak and refused to eat. They died two days after becoming ill”he explained. A panther and 20 tigers from this zoo had to be cremated before being buried to prevent any spread of the virus. In Vuon Xoai, more than twenty tigers have been placed in isolation to contain the epidemic. This zoo is home to more than 3,000 animals, including various species such as lions, bears, rhinos and giraffes.
No contaminated employees
Local authorities are stepping up controls and health measures to prevent the virus from spreading further among zoo animals and, potentially, employees. Tests carried out on around thirty people working at the zoo were negative, although certain strains of the bird flu can be transmitted to humans. Medical follow-up of employees and monitoring of symptoms linked to the disease continue as a precaution.
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