Bird smugglers deepen threat of human flu crisis. Chinese chicken is being illegally smuggled into Europe, increasing the risk of a human bird flu pandemic. [News Source]

WHO confirms 5 Indonesian bird flu deaths. The World Health Organization on Wednesday confirmed five new bird flu deaths in Indonesia, raising the number of fatal human cases of H5N1 in the country to 30. [News Source]

Bird flu prevention hampered by poor international coordination (Nutraingredients.com) 5/17/2006 - Measures to prevent avian influenza in poultry flocks could be compromised by lax management, poor international coordination, and a lack of funds, according to researchers. [News Source]

Five Family Members Infected With Bird Flu In Indonesia (Medical News Today) Indonesian authorities and the World Health Organization have confirmed that five members of the same family are infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus strain - raising fears that perhaps it is transmitting more easily from human-to-human. How many of the family members got the infection from each other or from infected birds is not yet known. [click link for full article] [News Source]

Bird-flu threat declining (World Peace Herald) WASHINGTON -- Bird-flu cases have dropped sharply in Europe and have not caused the human calamity expected in Africa, health officials report. [News Source]

Area schools urged to prepare for bird flu pandemic. Houston-area school officials were urged Tuesday to begin work on a plan for dealing with a possible deadly influenza that could force health authorities to shut down campuses to prevent the rapid spread of the disease. [News Source]

WHO damps fears over bird flu. Health officials played down concerns that a large cluster of human bird-flu cases in Indonesia might indicate that the virus has mutated into a more dangerous form. [News Source]

Five Indonesians die of bird flu. The deaths of the five brings Indonesia's bird flu death toll to 30. [News Source]

Food scares lead to sustained organic growth. Organic food was once the preserve of a small band of vegetarian environmentalists, but now it seems we're all jumping on the bandwagon. [News Source]

Bird flu prevention hampered by poor international coordination (Food Production Daily) 17/05/2006 - Measures to prevent avian influenza in poultry flocks could be compromised by lax management, poor international coordination, and a lack of funds, according to researchers. [News Source]

Colorado lab monitors birds for signs of avian flu (Casper Star-Tribune) FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- A key element of the nation's multimillion-dollar bird flu early-warning system is sealed in 2-inch plastic tubes filled with murky brownish liquid and broken Q-Tips. [News Source]

Bird flu (avian influenza) (Mayo Clinic) Viruses are masters of interspecies navigation. Mutating rapidly and often grabbing the genetic material of other viruses, they can jump from animals to humans with a quick flick of their DNA. Sometimes, as in West Nile fever, the transfer occurs through an intermediate host such as a mosquito. [News Source]