In northern Thailand, a troubling situation has been reported: this month, 72 tigers have fallen victim to a dangerous infection. The authorities are taking emergency measures, including disinfecting enclosures and preparing a vaccination program for the surviving animals to stop the further spread of the disease.
The causes of the tigers' deaths remain unclear. Representatives of the regional livestock management in Chiang Mai claim that the tigers were infected with the canine distemper virus, and among other identified infections was the bacterium mycoplasma. However, Somchuan Ratanamungklanont, head of the livestock development department at the Thai Ministry of Agriculture, attributes the deaths to feline panleukopenia.
The situation is complicated by the specifics of working with wild animals. As Ratanamungklanont noted, treating tigers requires a completely different approach compared to domestic cats and dogs that live close to humans, which allows for quicker detection of disease symptoms. In tigers, the disease is usually diagnosed too late.
The epicenter of the outbreak has been the mountainous areas of Mae Rim and Mae Taeng in Chiang Mai. The onset of illness in the animals was recorded as early as February 8. As a result of this tragedy, the popular tourist center Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai, where visitors could interact with tigers, has been temporarily closed. Kritsayam Kongsatri, head of the wildlife protection office in Chiang Mai, described the scale of the losses as "unusual for the region."
Similar cases have occurred in the region's history. For example, in southern Vietnam, from August to October 2024, 47 tigers and three leopards died from avian influenza. A more serious outbreak occurred in 2004 at the Sriracha Zoo, where 147 out of 441 tigers were euthanized or died, with the source of infection being raw chicken carcasses.
Veterinary services continue their work aimed at identifying the exact pathogen of the current outbreak.
Source: theguardian.com
