- Almost 100 endangered tigers have died or been culled
at a Thai zoo after an outbreak of bird flu, but officials yesterday said
the virus was under control.
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- The tigers became sick at the private Sriracha Tiger
Zoo in central Chonburi province after eating raw chicken carcasses believed
to be infected. The zoo was home to 441 tigers before the deaths began
last week.
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- Some 83 dead tigers, including at least 18 killed by
lethal injection, were confirmed bird flu victims, said Preecha Rattaporn,
of the government's Wild Animal Protection and Conservation Centre. Eleven
others were buried without tests.
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- He added. "The situation is under control now; only
five to six tigers are still sick. I think no more than five more tigers
will die from bird flu."
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- Surviving tigers were being protected with a common flu
vaccine also used by humans.
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- Mr Rattaporn said suspicions voiced by some animal activists
that the body parts from the tigers - valued as traditional medicine -
had been retained and sold were unjustified. Only parts of their lungs
had been saved for laboratory testing.
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- Bird flu this year has killed 11 people in Thailand and
20 in Vietnam and forced the culling of tens of millions of birds.
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- Although the virus has most commonly been found in chickens,
scientists fear it could mutate with a human virus, sparking a global pandemic.
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- Last month Thailand announced its first probable case
of human-to-human bird flu transmission. Experts fear the virus is entrenched
in the region.
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- © 2002 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=575227
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