Genetic test to reveal whether Brazil's bird flu case is linked to zoo deaths

20/5/2025 6:16

Brazilian authorities hope to determine by Tuesday whether a confirmed outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza among wild birds in a zoo in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul is connected with the country's first bird flu case on a commercial poultry farm in the same state, an official said on Monday.



Rosane Collares, a director at the state's agriculture department, told Reuters that the genetic sequencing of the virus that killed around 100 waterfowl at the zoo in the town of Sapucaia do Sul would reveal if it is related to the outbreak in a commercial poultry farm in the town of Montenegro, where the H5N1 bird flu virus is already responsible for the death of 17,000 chickens, either directly from the disease or due to cautionary culling.



The farm is located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the zoo.