Kosice Zoo Reopens to Public

Kosice, January 3 (TASR) - Kosice Zoo has been reopened to the public as of Friday, after the Kosice Regional Veterinary and Food Administration (RVPS) reversed its decision to close the zoo due to a bird flu infection, Kosice Zoo marketing department head Eva Malesova has informed TASR. "The official veterinarian examined the birds kept in the zoo and confirmed that clinical examinations carried out since the most recent death didn't entail the suspicion of bird flu inflection. A protective zone with a radius of three kilometres from the site of the outbreak of the infection has been cancelled as well," said Malesova, adding that the zoo staff will resume ongoing projects for importing and exchanging animals, which had been suspended due to the forced break. According to Malesova, the zoo continues to pay increased attention to adherence to hygiene rules and supplying vitamins when preparing feed. Kosice Zoo was closed to the public as of December 11 after the National Reference Laboratory in Zvolen (Banska Bystrica region) confirmed a bird flu infection in a hooded merganser duck, native to North America. RVPS decided that the zoo would remain closed until further notice. The zoo then announced that it would be closed to the public for at least 21 days, depending on how the infection developed. RVPS decided that the zoo could reopen after 23 days. ko/df