McDonald’s isolates chickens to fight bird flu (Reuters.co.uk) OAK BROOK, Illinois (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp. MCD.N is having its suppliers in Europe bring normally free-range chickens indoors to try to contain the spread of bird flu and to make sure the food it serves is not tainted with the disease, the company said on Monday. [News Source]

Avian flu outbreaks wax, wane (CIDRAP) Apr 17, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Poultry deaths due to the H5N1 avian influenza virus are spreading in some parts of the world as cases decline elsewhere. [News Source]

Yolo gets ready for bird flu (The Davis Enterprise) Published Apr 16, 2006 - 18:30:13 CDT. It seems almost every year, there’s a new disease that might have the ability to threaten humanity. For the last several years, H5N1, or bird flu, has been waiting in the wings, watching as SARS and West Nile virus took their turns on the stage. [News Source]

Officials checking geese for bird flu (Albany Democrat-Herald) Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff don’t know whether the mid-valley’s gamebird population will be affected by the avian influenza strain H5N1, but they plan to learn more by monitoring bird health. [News Source]

U.S. prepares bird-flu plan for approval. In the event of a bird flu outbreak, U.S. money could be produced overseas and Americans checked in drive-through medical exams for signs of infection. [News Source]

Repeat of quake of 1906 could be even more deadly. Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake, researchers have calculated the possible death and destruction that could occur if another temblor of equal strength struck San Francisco today. [News Source]

Readiness key to avian flu. If a human strain of the disease surfaces, the key to containing it will be limiting human contact. The buzz phrase is "social distancing." [News Source]

GEN ID Lab Services, Inc. to Identify Molecules to Treat Human Infections with the Avian Flu Virus (“Bird Flu”) (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) FONTANA, Calif.----April 17, 2006--GEN ID Lab Services, Inc. today announced that the company will be conducting research in the area of antiviral compounds to identify molecules to treat human infections with the Avian Flu Virus or a mutant version thereof. [News Source]

Bird flu on the wane in southern Russia - minister (Russian Information Agency Novosti) MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) - The number of birds infected with avian flu in southern Russia has fallen, the agriculture minister said Monday. "The bird flu situation has now improved, and the number of quarantine zones has been sharply reduced," Alexei Gordeyev said. [News Source]

South Asia looks resigned to bird flu. Bird flu is spreading across one of the most crowded places on earth and, far from being brought under control, looks almost certain to remain a long-term menace. [News Source]

State not ready for a flu crisis. Los Angeles County and the rest of California have nowhere near the capacity to treat the hundreds of thousands of people who might need medical care should a pandemic flu strike. [News Source]

Durham company coping with bird flu (BizJournals) DURHAM - The outbreak of bird flu in Europe has resulted in slumping sales for two Embrex customers that contributed 28 percent of the vaccine company's 2005 revenue - and the threat of the disease migrating to North America is looming over Embrex's 2006 outlook. [News Source]