Local sites pushed for defense lab. The state of Georgia has proposed two Athens sites as potential spots for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, a research and development lab that would study potential pandemic diseases such as bird flu, as well as biological or agricultural threats that could be used in terrorism. [News Source]

Groups urge Latin American pact against bird flu. Latin American and Caribbean countries are among the least well-prepared in the world for bird flu and must work quickly to get ready for its arrival, international officials said on Friday. [News Source]

Glaxo begins trials on 2 bird flu vaccines. Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Thursday it has begun international clinical trials of two pandemic vaccines against the H5N1 strain of bird flu in humans. [News Source]

Massive Vietnam effort cuts off bird flu. In an impressive burst of action, Vietnam, once the epicenter for bird flu, has temporarily stamped out the disease: No people infected since November, and no poultry outbreaks since December. [News Source]