Alaskan lab ready to serve as avian flu testing center (Contra Costa Times) Rows of insulated seafood boxes are lined up in a spare room at the new Alaska Environmental Health Laboratory in Anchorage. Instead of fish, they're packed with field kits destined for the Alaska bush, where crews will net and sample migrating birds for avian influenza. [News Source]

Bird flu vaccine coming slowly (Akron Beacon Journal) Health scientists and engineers are racing to find new ways to produce a vaccine that will protect people from the threat of a worldwide bird-flu pandemic. [News Source]

The race against bird flu. U.S. health officials say it is only a matter of time before tests come back positive and this avian flu strain will be found in North America. [News Source]

Big-scale flu tests set for LI’s birds. A massive sampling of birds on LI begins next month as part of a surveillance effort throughout North America for evidence of the potentially lethal avian flu strain, which is expected to arrive in this hemisphere within the next few months. [News Source]

State bracing for bird flu. As a global hub for trade and travel, Washington state has an added burden in preparing for a possible flu pandemic, Gov. Christine Gregoire said Friday at a summit with leading public-health officials. [News Source]

Expanded bird screening part of plan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and others are working to further ensure the protection of people, domestic poultry and wild birds by unveiling an enhanced national framework for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza. [News Source]

Who’s afraid of a little heat? Maybe a PR makeover would make global warming a little scarier. [News Source]

Whidbey Island gets ready to handle bird flu (South Whidbey Herald) The best protection against a bird flu outbreak is keeping a level head and getting communities prepared. Dr. Rick Ingrasci of Langley has made this one of his priorities as he helps the emergency planning group work on the city’s emergency plan. [News Source]

Crews gear up for bird flu testing. Scientists believe the first reported case of the Asian H5N1 virus in the United States will likely show up in Alaska, brought by migratory birds arriving from Russia or Southeast Asia. [News Source]

Birds being shot down ‘for fear of infection.’ Swans and other wild birds are being shot down by people worried about bird flu, according to a wildlife rescue group. [News Source]

Fears of bird flu give new life to waning antiviral. Global fears over bird flu have sent sales soaring for an antiviral drug once dismissed as a commercial dud, but the two companies responsible for the drug are locked in a bitter court battle over profits. [News Source]

Bird flu serious enough to become ‘global pandemic’ (Inside Bay Area) Q. Do we need to be worried about bird flu? Can it infect my pet birds? A. I recently attended a lecture about avian influenza, aka bird flu. [News Source]