Forty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media said Wednesday.
According to test results from the National Centre for Animal Health Diagnosis, the animals died "because of H5N1 type A virus," VNA said.
No zoo staff members in close contact with the animals had experienced respiratory symptoms, the VNA report added.
Education for Nature Vietnam, an NGO that focuses on wildlife conservation, said there were a total of 385 tigers living in captivity in Vietnam at the end of 2023.
The World Health Organization says that since 2022, there have been increasing reports of deadly outbreaks among mammals caused by influenza viruses, including H5N1.
In the U.S., bird flu has been detected in about 200 dairy herds in 14 states this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.