At least 40 animals have died at Nepal’s Central Zoo since a bird flu outbreak began in mid-June, most of them raptors and carnivores including a common leopard, though the zoo has refused to officially confirm the toll.Officials gave conflicting dates for when the first dead birds were found, and the zoo stayed open until June 19 despite a positive rapid test on June 14, a five-day gap that allowed the virus to spread through the facility.Investigators suspect feral crows were the likely vector, with a nest found near the barn owl enclosure and droppings possibly contaminating the owl’s water supply; contaminated raw chicken fed to carnivores is also being examined.The inquiry into the response is being led by the same spokesperson who has publicly defended the zoo’s handling of the outbreak.
KATHMANDU — A dead crow was found inside Nepal’s Central Zoo around “mid-June,” the exact date remains unknown. Then birds including a barn owl (Tyto alba) tested positive for avian influenza (bird flu) in a rapid test. Zoo authorities then sent samples to the Central Veterinary Laboratory on June 15.
The zoo and officials from the semi-government body running it have given conflicting accounts of when the first deaths were detected and when bird flu was suspected. The facility remained open for several days, raising questions over its disease response during a major outbreak in Kathmandu Valley, where infected crows and fowl had already been reported in nearby Kirtipur.
