NEW DELHI, Oct 19: An official says New Delhi's zoo has been closed temporarily after nine birds died from suspected bird flu last week.

Riaz Ahmed Khan, the National Zoological Park's curator, says autopsies conducted on the birds confirmed that at least two of them died from H5N1 avian influenza.

"We decided to close the zoo for a few days as a precautionary measure," Khan said Wednesday.

He said the zoo would reopen next week.

The zoo has about 1,400 animals, reptiles and birds belonging to around 130 species. The sprawling park, one of the largest in India, gets about 2.2 million visitors annually.

In May, zoo workers were vaccinated against rabies after 46 spotted deer at the park died from the viral disease.

 
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• zoo
 
• national zoological park
 
• h5n1
 
• reptiles
 
• birds