Houston doctors on guard against bird flu. Hospitals are busy preparing for worst-case scenarios even though opinions differ sharply about the likelihood of avian influenza mutating into a form spread easily by humans. [News Source]

Louisville prepares to battle bird flu. If the bird flu becomes a worldwide pandemic, Kentucky could be hit hard -- with more than a third of its residents sickened, 21,000 hospitalized and 3,000 to 7,000 people dead. [News Source]

Bird flu: Plan, don’t panic. Brian Bauer couldn't help but think about the Asian bird flu when he spotted a dead goose on his neighbor's Saline Township farm. [News Source]

In the event of a pandemic In a sobering new look at how a super-virus could affect the community, the Bay Area's Santa Clara County Public Health Department released Monday a sweeping draft plan for dealing with pandemic influenza. [News Source]

Phila. flu plan kept out of sight. In Seattle, public health officials have posted 11 versions of the city's pandemic flu plan on the Web. In Philadelphia, officials call their plan "a work in progress" and decline to share it. [News Source]

Bye bye birdies. Various reasons for migration falloff have been proposed, but climate change caused by global warming is high on the list for many experts. [News Source]

American Veterinary Medical Association Responds to ABC Movie on Avian Influenza (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) On Tuesday, May 9, ABC will air a made-for-television movie, "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," depicting the possible consequences of a deadly strain of avian influenza mutating to a form that could transfer easily between humans. [News Source]

Are We Ready for Avian Flu? McKenna Long & Aldridge Biodefense Experts Assess Implementation Plan for Pandemic (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) With the airing of ABC's movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," the ominous buzz surrounding avian flu has moved to center stage in the public consciousness. [News Source]

Officials fear fallout from film on bird flu (The Oregonian) Public health officials and poultry owners are worried that tonight's ABC movie will be like yelling "fire" in a crowded hen house. The thriller, "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," paints a graphic -- and hopeless -- picture of avian influenza infecting humans in a catastrophic epidemic. [News Source]

Doctor: Avian flu danger is real, be prepared (Provo Daily Herald) Know thine enemy. That was the crux of Dr. Adi Gundlapalli's presentation on avian flu to local health care providers from Timpanogos Regional Hospital at Riverside Country Club in Provo on Monday. The infectious diseases specialist from the University of Utah detailed how deadly an avian influenza outbreak could be and warned repeatedly about the hazards of underestimating the danger.. [News Source]

Bird Flu: The fictional TV movie is enough to make poultry industry sick (Winona Daily News) ABC Television is scheduled to air the movie, “Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America” depicting a fictional human avian influenza pandemic tonight. [News Source]