More than a dozen tigers have died after contracting bird flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam. A caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa city told State media VNExpress that the animals were fed with raw chicken bought from nearby farms.

Officials believe the animals caught the virus from infected chicken meat they were fed at two zoos.

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,

Forty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media reported on Wednesday.