Twenty tigers and one panther dead after bird flu outbreak at Vietnam zoo
manchestereveningnews.co.ukMore than a dozen tigers have died after contracting bird flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam, according to officials. State media VNExpress reported that a caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa city said the animals had been fed raw chicken purchased from local farms.
One panther and 20 tigers, including several cubs, have been incinerated and buried on the zoo grounds. They weighed between 10 and 120 kilograms (20 and 265 pounds). READ MORE: Search for Hurricane Helene victims enters second week as death toll rises Zoo manager Nguyen Ba Phuc said: "The tigers died so fast.
They looked weak, refused to eat and died after two days of falling sick." Tests conducted on samples taken from the tigers confirmed they were positive for H5N1, the virus responsible for bird flu.
The virus was initially identified in 1959 and has since evolved into a widespread and highly lethal threat to migratory birds and domestic poultry.
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