Bird flu: How big is the threat? (Part 1) (ABC Asia Pacific) Bird flu has been described as the most deadly influenza virus in modern human history. In the past four months, outbreaks have been reported in 29 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. [News Source]

Planners consider pandemic problems. Planners pondered how to cope with a pandemic, such as human-to-human transmission of H5N1, should one reach Alaska. [News Source]

China reports new bird flu case in poultry. China has suffered a new outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry, a news report said Saturday, as experts tried to determine whether a Chinese man died of the disease in 2003, two years before the country reported any human cases. [News Source]

Bird flu hits young people hardest, study finds / Most of ill under 40; teens likeliest to die (San Francisco Chronicle) Avian flu tends to kill younger people, much as the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic did, the World Health Organization said in an analysis of more than 200 cases. Deaths from the disease surged in the winter for the last three years, the report released... [News Source]

Effects of avian flu take a secondary toll (The Oregonian) A vian flu might torpedo Oregon's duck season after all. "I'm spending 90 percent of my time dealing with avian flu," said Brad Bales, waterfowl biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "I haven't had any time at all to draft anything for waterfowl seasons. [News Source]