Dozens of tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in southern Vietnam, with subsequent tests detecting cases of bird flu. The country’s Ministry of Health in a statement said today that two samples taken from dead tigers at Mango Garden Resort in Dong Nai province tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Phan Van Phuc, an official of Dong Nai province’s Centre for Disease Control in a statement said that Since early last month, 20 tigers died at the resort after being fed chicken and it’s likely that the tigers had been infected by sick chicken. The authorities are tracking the source of the chicken to determine the cause.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that since 2022, there have been increasing reports of deadly outbreaks among mammals caused by influenza viruses, including H5N1.