Chicken cull after bird flu find. Some 35,000 chickens at a poultry farm in Norfolk are to be slaughtered after dead birds tested positive for a strain of bird flu. [News Source]

U.N. says bird flu spreading. Bird flu has hit 45 countries, killed more than 100 people and seems to be spreading quickly, the U.N. official in charge of tracking the virus said Wednesday. [News Source]

Bird flu found in Norfolk. Bird flu has been found in a large flock of chickens in the heart of Norfolk, it was confirmed late on Wednesday night by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. [News Source]

Wet weather could boost West Nile virus. Record rains that have soaked much of California this year could lead to a "banner year" for breeding mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus. [News Source]

Avian flu might not be next pandemic (Lexington Herald-Leader) And now the good news: Avian influenza might not be the next pandemic to kill millions around the world. The H5N1 virus that causes bird flu has had ample opportunity to mutate into a faster-moving strain, but has not done so -- and that is reason for hope, said Frank Edens, an immunologist and physiologist who spoke yesterday to a Lexington audience. [News Source]

EU pension supervisors monitoring bird flu (Investment & Pensions Europe) IPE.com 27/Apr/06: EUROPE - CEIOPS, the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors, will monitor the avian influenza situation as it evolves. [News Source]

Avian flu might not be next pandemic (Lexington Herald-Leader) And now the good news: Avian influenza might not be the next pandemic to kill millions around the world. The H5N1 virus that causes bird flu has had ample opportunity to mutate into a faster-moving strain, but has not done so -- and that is reason for hope, said Frank Edens, an immunologist and physiologist who spoke yesterday to a Lexington audience. [News Source]

FACTBOX-Bird flu’s rapid march around the globe (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Ivory Coast has reported its first outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in two populous neighborhoods of its main city Abidjan, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said late on Wednesday. [News Source]

UK culls chickens as precaution against avian influenza (Food Production Daily) 27/04/2006 - About 35,000 chickens are being culled at a farm in Norfolk, UK as a precaution against an outbreak of avian influenza. Regulators plan to complete tests today to determine whether the strain is the deadly form of the disease. [News Source]

KFC heading off fears of bird flu (The Cincinnati Enquirer) LOUISVILLE - At KFC, Colonel Harland Sanders' face remains a staple on company signs and food containers. Now the goateed image of the restaurant chain's founder appears on a sticker meant to head off any concerns about eating chicken if bird flu spreads to the United States. [News Source]

Avian flu might not be next pandemic (Lexington Herald-Leader) And now the good news: Avian influenza might not be the next pandemic to kill millions around the world. The H5N1 virus that causes bird flu has had ample opportunity to mutate into a faster-moving strain, but has not done so -- and that is reason for hope, said Frank Edens, an immunologist and physiologist who spoke yesterday to a Lexington audience. [News Source]

Britain to cull 35,000 chickens after bird flu found on farm (AFP via Yahoo! News) Britain was waking up to fresh bird flu fears with 35,000 chickens being sent for slaughter following the discovery of the virus among a number of dead poultry on a farm. [News Source]