Another monkey at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens has died, bringing the death toll to 12.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said a De Brazza’s monkey that had been put under isolation died on Tuesday.

A necropsy has been carried out to determine the cause of death.

It followed the deaths of 11 monkeys since the middle of the month, caused by sepsis after they caught melioidosis.

Officials said earlier workers had dug up the ground near the monkey enclosure and might have brought in contaminated soil on their shoes.

The government said the zoo's mammal section remains closed.

It also said the health conditions of 78 mammals and staff caring for the animals there are normal.