About 47 tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in southern Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media reported on Wednesday.
The animals died in August and September at the private „My Quynh“ safari park in Long An province and the „Vuon Xoai“ zoo in Dong Nai city near Ho Chi Minh City, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Test results from the National Diagnostic Centre for Animal Health showed that the animals died „due to the H5N1 type A virus“, VNA said. The zoos declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

No zoo staff who had close contact with the animals experienced symptoms of respiratory illness, the VNA statement added.
The Vietnamese NGO „Education for Nature Vietnam“ (ENV), which focuses on wildlife conservation, said that at the end of 2023, there were a total of 385 tigers in captivity in Vietnam.

About 310 are held in 16 private farms and zoos, while the rest are held in government facilities. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that from 2022 onwards, fatal outbreaks in mammals caused by influenza viruses, including H5N1, will be increasingly reported.

It also says that H5N1 infection in humans can range from mild to severe, and in some cases – even fatal. In March, Vietnam reported a death from the virus to WHO. In 2004, dozens of tigers died or were destroyed by avian influenza at the world's largest breeding farm in Thailand.