Terrorism, bird flu, tsunami hurting Asia tourism: Survey (The Jakarta Post) BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Terrorism, avian influenza and the tsunami are deterring most tourists from holidaying in Asia, a survey by ACNielsen and GMI Research shows. [News Source]

Bird flu update: 24 April 2006 (SciDev.net) Below is a roundup of the key developments on the spread of the bird flu virus (H5N1) and the threat it poses to human health. Each title is a link to the full article. [News Source]

World Bank makes $34.4 mln bird flu loan to Turkey (AlertNet) WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - The World Bank approved a $34.4 million loan on Monday to help Turkey combat avian flu in birds and humans, the bank said in a statement. [News Source]

Panel discusses impact of bird flu (Opelika-Auburn News) Getting the bird flu, or highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, doesn’t mean the chickens just get a high fever and wish they felt better. An avian influenza outbreak could be a high mortality event in Alabama’s poultry industry. [News Source]

US-ICDDR,B sign MoU on technical assistance to combat avian flu (Financial Express) The US government would provide technical assistance to the ICDDR,B to combat avian influenza, reports BDNEWS. [News Source]

Anthrax alert after farm deaths. Wales was on anthrax-watch last night after it was confirmed the deadly disease had been found on a farm. [News Source]

Rain boosts West Nile threat. This year's unusually wet spring in California has led experts to expect large numbers of mosquitoes and other pests. [News Source]

A primer for pandemics. A few times each year, the world is reminded that a pandemic threat is immanent. In 2003, it was SARS. Today, it is a potential avian virus similar to the one that killed 30 million people after 1914. [News Source]

Farms on guard amid bird-flu fears. State and federal agriculture and wildlife officials have beefed up surveillance of wild waterfowl and domestic poultry as part of precautions against an H5N1 outbreak. [News Source]

Vaccinating all schoolkids could prevent flu pandemic. The key to stopping a flu pandemic may lie in schoolchildren and giving them the best available vaccine at the earliest sign of a major epidemic might fend off a deadly pandemic. [News Source]

Tests show pigeons don’t pose bird flu threat. City folks, don't worry. Nobody expects pigeons, more common than manhole covers, will bring the deadly bird flu virus. [News Source]

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Study Results for Potential Adjuvanted Bird Flu Vaccine (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.----April 24, 2006--BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive results of a new study demonstrating that its calcium phosphate nanoparticle-based vaccine adjuvant, BioVant, may serve as a vaccine adjuvant for the development of an effective vaccine against H5N1 avian flu, widely known as bird flu. [News Source]