Reuters, HANOI

Dozens of tigers and lions in captivity died in the past month in southern Vietnam with tests showing they were positive for bird flu, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and state media said yesterday.

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 said in a statement.

Twenty tigers have died at the resort since early last month.

Tigers, lions and a panther have died in Dong Nai and Long An provinces, with cases of bird flu subsequently detected.

Photo: AFP

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 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 at Dong Nai Province’s Center for Disease Control, said in the 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 Web site, the WHO warns against consuming raw or incompletely cooked meat and eggs from regions experiencing avian influenza outbreaks due to the high risk of infection.