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

By Debora Ely and Ana Mano

MONTENEGRO, Brazil, May 19 (Reuters) - 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.

"We need to know if there is any relation or if it was an unfortunate coincidence," she said.

No zoo animals were culled following confirmation that a Black-necked swan, one of the birds that died, had caught bird flu. The protocol for wild birds is different from the one guiding commercial flocks, and does not include the culling of animals that are not sick, Collares said.

Collares said the animals that died all lived around one of the zoo's lakes. a

On Saturday, teams from Vibra Foods, a Brazilian food processor backed by Tyson Foods TSN.N that runs the farm where bird flu was detected, buried waste that had first been incinerated to prevent the spread of the virus.

Tyson and Vibra have not responded to several comment requests.

According to Collares, health measures were taken to prevent further contamination within the zoo's perimeter, including isolation of the area and limited access for zoo workers.