Bird flu update: 31 July 2006 (SciDev.net) Below is a roundup of the key developments on the spread of the bird flu virus (H5N1) and the threat it poses to human health. Each title is a link to the full article. [News Source]

Ferrets help understand bird flu (CNN.com) Initial results from tests using ferrets suggest the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has to undergo complex genetic changes before it could develop into a pandemic flu virus. [News Source]

Bird flu-human flu virus mix doesn’t transmit easily in animal test (CNN.com) Tests using ferrets suggest that the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has to undergo complex genetic changes before it could develop into a pandemic flu virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [News Source]

Massive chicken cull in Thailand as experts await human avian flu test results (CIDRAP) Jul 31, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – A Thai province is culling 300,000 chickens after a laboratory test confirmed an avian influenza outbreak, and the country's health ministry is monitoring 80 patients who are suspected of having avian flu. [News Source]

Bird Flu Pandemic May Not Develop (HealthDay via Yahoo! News) MONDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- A bird flu pandemic might not be imminent, as many health experts have feared, U.S. researchers now say. [News Source]

Winnipeg animal disease lab named reference centre for avian influenza, BSE (CP via Yahoo! Canada News) WINNIPEG (CP) - Canada's National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease has been designated as a reference laboratory for both avian influenza and BSE or bovine spongiform encephalopathy by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, known as the OIE. [News Source]

EDITORIAL Evolving bird flu requires vigilance (The Nation) Thailand has come a long way in terms of its efforts towards the prevention, monitoring and containment of bird flu since the first case of the potentially catastrophic H5N1 virus was detected in 2003. While that case was met with an instinctive denial and a desperate attempt at a cover up, which blew up in the Thaksin administration's face, more sophisticated crisis management measures [News Source]

Duck hunters catch non-deadly bird flu from prey, study shows. A study of duck hunters in Iowa is believed to be the first to show people can catch bird flu -- a non-threatening kind -- from wild birds. [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]

Bird flu update: 31 July 2006 (SciDev.net) Below is a roundup of the key developments on the spread of the bird flu virus (H5N1) and the threat it poses to human health. Each title is a link to the full article. [News Source]

Avian influenza reflected in market swings for poultry (Food Production Daily) 31/07/2006 - The avian influenza scare is causing fluctuations in the demand and price for poultry in the EU, according to the latest agricultural forecast by the European Commission. [News Source]

Vermont Keeps Up Preparations For Avian Flu (WCAX 3) Vermont continues to prepare for a possible Avian Flu pandemic that could lead to widespread illness and death if it's not contained quickly. Although the chances of an outbreak remain unknown, health and public safety officials hope they'll be ready -- just in case. [News Source]