HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Greater than a dozen tigers had been incinerated after the animals contracted chook flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam, officers stated.

State media VNExpress cited a caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa metropolis saying the animals had been fed with uncooked hen purchased from close by farms. The panther and 20 tigers, together with a number of cubs, weighed between 10 and 120 kilograms (20 and 265 kilos) once they died. The our bodies had been incinerated and buried on the premises.

“The tigers died so quick. They seemed weak, refused to eat and died after two days of falling sick,” stated zoo supervisor Nguyen Ba Phuc.

Samples taken from the tigers examined optimistic for H5N1, the virus that causes chook flu.

The virus was first recognized in 1959 and grew right into a widespread and extremely deadly menace to migratory birds and domesticated poultry. It has since developed, and lately H5N1 was detected in a rising variety of animals starting from canines and cats to sea lions and polar bears.

In cats, scientists have discovered the virus attacking the mind, damaging and clotting blood vessels and inflicting seizures and demise.

Greater than 20 different tigers had been remoted for monitoring. The zoo homes some 3,000 different animals together with lions, bears, rhinos, hippos and giraffes.

The 30 employees members who had been taking good care of the tigers examined damaging for chook flu and had been in regular well being situation, VNExpress reported. One other outbreak additionally occurred at a zoo in close by Lengthy An province, the place 27 tigers and three lions died inside per week in September, the newspaper stated.

Uncommon flu strains that come from animals are sometimes present in folks. Well being officers in the US stated Thursday that two dairy employees in California had been contaminated — making 16 whole circumstances detected within the nation in 2024.

“The deaths of 47 tigers, three lions, and a panther at My Quynh Safari and Vuon Xoai Zoo amid Vietnam’s chook flu outbreak are tragic and spotlight the dangers of maintaining wild animals in captivity,” PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker stated in a press release despatched to The Related Press.

“The exploitation of untamed animals additionally places international human well being in danger by rising the probability of one other pandemic,” Baker stated.

Chook flu has prompted lots of of deaths world wide, the huge majority of them involving direct contact between folks and contaminated birds.