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Brazil investigates link between zoo and poultry farm bird

flu

cases

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Genetic sequencing to determine virus relatedness, says

Rosane

Collares

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Vibra Foods incinerates waste to prevent virus spread, no

comment from Tyson

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 ) 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.