Australian Researchers To Trial Bird Flu Vaccine (Science Daily) Australian researchers have begun a trial to test the effectiveness of a new vaccine to protect against the potentially deadly bird flu. The Vaccine Trials Group at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth is recruiting 150 adult volunteers to participate in the study. [News Source]

Kids’ farm moves birds as precaution. The National Zoo has temporarily moved the chickens and ducks at its Kids' Farm exhibit to reduce the potential risk of visitors and other animals contracting bird flu. [News Source]

Zoo’s birds moved to reduce avian flu risk (UPI) WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- The National Zoo in Washington has reportedly moved the chickens and ducks from its Kids' Farm exhibit to reduce the risk of spreading bird flu. [News Source]

Ethiopia: Avian Flu Contingency Plan Approved (AllAfrica.com) Ethiopia's national avian flu coordination committee has approved a multi-million dollar contingency plan to strengthen preparedness in the event of the disease spreading to the Horn of Africa country. [News Source]

Europe set to announce task force on bird flu (AFP via Yahoo! News) Europe will shortly unveil a task force for coordinating the continent's fight against bird flu, a leading European virologist said at a conference on H5N1 avian influenza. [News Source]

Bird flu: Conference warns of gaps in knowledge, preparedness (AFP via Yahoo! News) A major conference on avian flu, convened amidst a rising death toll among humans and a widening geographical spread among birds, warned of weak defences and worrying gaps in knowledge about the lethal virus. [News Source]

Ames lab prepares for avian flu testing (Iowa Farmer) AMES (AP) -- The government’s elaborate network for diagnosing bird flu will eventually come down to a sprawling 640-acre campus in the Iowa countryside where strict security is the only hint of the crucial role scientists there could play. [News Source]

ETHIOPIA: Avian flu contingency plan approved (IRIN) ADDIS ABABA, 29 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Ethiopia's national avian flu coordination committee has approved a multi-million dollar contingency plan to strengthen preparedness in the event of the disease spreading to the Horn of Africa country. [News Source]

Community groups establish links, form Avian Flu Task Force (Saint George Spectrum) ST. GEORGE - As many as 250 professionals from throughout Washington County took an active role in Wednesday afternoon's Avian Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Summit hosted by the Southwest Public Health Department. [News Source]

S.L., Dixie meetings assess bird flu risk (Deseret Morning News) No trace of avian influenza has been found in Utah this year, but Wednesday morning, those who would respond to a pandemic crisis gathered in Salt Lake City to play a game of "what if?" while a conference in St. George also assessed the potential consequences of a bird-flu outbreak. [News Source]

Bird flu policy in the works (Culpeper Star-Exponent) Pandemics occur naturally. With the threat of avian influenza on the horizon, local officials are trying to educate the public that the possibility of a pandemic is not a question of if, but rather when. [News Source]

Economic impact of bird flu hinges on panic – experts (NDTV Profit) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The severity of a global economic slowdown caused by a bird flu pandemic, estimated to slash 1 to 12 percent off world output, largely depends on how people and governments react, economists said on Wednesday. [News Source]