Dozens of captive tigers and lions die in Vietnam, bird flu detected

HANOI (Reuters) - Dozens of tigers and lions in captivity died in the past month in southern Vietnam with tests showing they were positive for bird flu, health ministry and state media said on Thursday.

Two samples taken from dead tigers at Mango Garden Resort in Dong Nai province have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Twenty tigers have died at the resort since early last month.

The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, to mammals including cows, dogs, cats and even dolphins worldwide has raised concerns about potential human-to-human transmission.

In neighbouring Long An province, 27 tigers and three lions died from bird flu at My Quynh Safari from Sept. 6 to 18, state media reported, citing provincial agricultural authorities.

The tigers at Mango Garden Resort had been fed chicken before they died, Phan Van Phuc, an official of Dong Nai province's Centre for Disease Control, said in the health ministry statement.

"It's likely that the tigers had been infected from sick chicken, and the authorities are tracking the source of the chicken to determine the cause," the statement quoted Phan as saying.

On its website, the World Health Organization warns against consuming raw or incompletely cooked meat and eggs from regions experiencing avian influenza outbreaks due to the high risk of infection.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)