Indonesia blames 5 deaths in family on avian flu (CIDRAP) May 15, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Indonesian authorities have attributed the deaths of five members of one extended family to H5N1 avian influenza, and three surviving relatives are also suspected of having the virus, according to news services. [News Source]

Infants Or Adults? NIH Ethicists Argue For New Bird Flu Priorities (Science Daily) In a bird flu pandemic, prioritizing the elderly, infants and infirm for scarce vaccine supplies may not be smart, argue two bioethicists in a new paper appearing in the journal Science. Accounting for life expectancy and an individual's investment in the future might just move healthy college students towards the front of the line. [News Source]

UN expert praises Egypt’s bird flu response (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Egypt's quick response to bird flu shows that even less-developed countries can cope with limited outbreaks if they follow guidelines, the United Nations' chief bird flu expert says. [News Source]

Indonesia’s Bird Flu Deaths Fuel Concern Over Control (Update4) (Bloomberg.com) May 15 (Bloomberg) -- At least five Indonesians from North Sumatra province are suspected to have died in recent weeks from bird flu, a World Health Organization official said, fueling concern over the country's ability to halt the virus in poultry. [News Source]

PhilHealth covers avian flu and flu pandemic (Sun Star) THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has expanded the benefit for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome by including "bird flu" and influenza pandemic in its coverage. [News Source]

Bird flu now included in Philhealth coverage (Manila Bulletin) CEBU CITY - The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) has expanded the coverage of its severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) package by including bird flu. [News Source]

IBM to help track spread of bird flu. IBM today is announcing a new cooperative effort with health authorities to stem the spread of bird flu and other infectious diseases using technology it developed partly at its Almaden Research Center in San Jose. [News Source]

PBC tackles bird-flu/hurricane fears (The Palm Beach Post) Even before President Bush warned this month that communities can expect to fend for themselves in the event of a bird flu pandemic, officials were meeting in Palm Beach County to ponder questions ranging from the unusual to the unthinkable. [News Source]

Indonesia to investigate cluster bird flu case (Reuters via Yahoo! Asia News) JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia is investigating the source of H5N1 avian flu infection in a bird flu case which involved eight members of an extended family, the agriculture minister said on Monday. [News Source]

Indonesia’s Bird Flu Deaths Fuel Concern Over Control (Update2) (Bloomberg.com) May 15 (Bloomberg) -- At least five Indonesians from North Sumatra province are suspected to have died in recent weeks from bird flu, a World Health Organization official said, fueling concern over the country's ability to halt the virus in poultry. [News Source]

Officials study Indonesia bird-flu cluster. An unusually big cluster of suspected bird-flu cases involving an extended family in Indonesia is attracting attention from health officials on guard against any sign the virus may have evolved to spread easily among humans. [News Source]

IBM offers its technology to battle infectious diseases. IBM will make advanced software available to public-health groups to use in the battle against a potential avian flu pandemic. [News Source]