Bird flu worries prompt new Alaska animal test law (Reuters via Yahoo! News) A new Alaskan law increases the state's power to test and quarantine animals suspected of carrying contagious diseases, a precaution that officials say will be necessary in the case of a deadly strain of bird flu. [News Source]

Hong Kong May Probe Suspected Bird Flu Case in Southern China (Bloomberg.com) June 14 (Bloomberg) -- A suspected human bird flu case in China's southern city of Shenzhen may prompt an investigation by authorities in neighboring Hong Kong, where surveillance for the virus has been intensified at borders, the government said. [News Source]

Panel Hears Report on Bird Flu (Southern Pines Pilot) A bird flu pandemic among humans is not in the immediate future. That was the good news Public Health Director Robert Wittmann shared with the MooreHealth Board at a meeting earlier this month. [News Source]

State set to test migratory birds for avian flu. State wildlife officials will soon begin testing more than 2,500 migratory birds for the avian influenza virus, watching for spread of the deadly disease from Asia and parts of Europe. [News Source]

Delayed reaction. Our warming planet has huge implications for public health. But is the NHS too preoccupied with today's problems to address tomorrow's risks? [News Source]

USAID announces $5 Million award to track bird flu (News-Medical-Net) USAID announces $5 million award to support the development of a global network to track avian influenza, with the aim of monitoring the role of migratory birds. [News Source]

Suspected human bird flu case in south China (AFP via Yahoo! News) A 31-year-old man is suspected to have contracted bird flu in southern China, state media quoted health authorities as saying. [News Source]

Study: Cats might spread avian flu virus (UPI) LONDON, June 13 (UPI) -- A British scientist says cats might play a key role in the spread of the avian flu virus. [News Source]

Call for better bird surveillance. Britain's fight against a possible bird flu outbreak needs a more "robust and systematic" wild bird surveillance programme. [News Source]

Cats could hold key to spread of avian flu virus. Cats should become a new focus of efforts to understand and prevent the spread of avian flu, according to government advisers. [News Source]

Africa to Host International Meeting on Bird Flu Preparations (Moldova.org) “Bird flu controls and a plan to prepare for a possible pandemic will be reviewed at a meeting of international agencies and governments in Africa later this year, a World Bank official said,” reports Bloomberg (06/09). “The meeting will check programs to monitor, manage and eradicate the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, and to prepare for any pandemic it may spawn. It will follow the Influenza [News Source]

Committee addresses avian flu possibility (Jonesboro Sun) JONESBORO -- The Quorum Court's Finance Committee voted unanimously Monday night to forward an ordinance for the full court's approval that would provide funds to be used in battling a bird flu pandemic should it come to pass. [News Source]