No need to cull wild birds to stop birdflu: expert. Ducks and other wild birds are carrying the feared H5N1 virus, but there is no need to cull or otherwise target them as part of efforts to control the virus, experts said on Thursday. [News Source]

Struggle against disease is a fight for human rights. To the list of forces that can trigger a global pandemic of avian flu - such as mutating viruses and migrating birds - some scientists add another: regimes that that trample human rights. [News Source]

Energy, environment on the table at economic conference. World economic policy-makers are turning their attention to ways wealthy nations can help developing countries meet their energy needs while protecting the environment. [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]

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]

Farms on guard amid bird-flu fears (Louisville Courier-Journal) Methods of keeping pultry diseases away from farms are getting increased attention as the virulent H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, contrinues to make headlines. [News Source]

It’s not easy to pigeonhole bird flu, gov’t expert says (New York Daily News) WASHINGTON - Checking pigeons for the avian flu is probably for the birds, a government official said yesterday. [News Source]

Q&A ON AVIAN FLU (The State) Is there bird flu in the United States? Yes and no. Birds get hundreds of flu viruses and no doubt some are present in birds here. However, the deadly strain of H5N1 — that has resulted in the deaths of more than 100 humans and millions of birds, mostly in Asia — has yet to be found in North America. [News Source]

S.C. taking steps against fatal bird flu (The State) Testing, surveillance on rise The most lethal strain of bird flu probably won’t wing its way to the United States through South Carolina. But if it does, health and wildlife officials here don’t want to be sitting ducks. [News Source]