Avian flu pops up in German zoo (CIDRAP) Aug 4, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – A swan tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza at a German zoo yesterday, signaling the virus's re-emergence in the country after a 3-month lull. [News Source]

Bird Flu Resides Deep in Lungs, Preventing Human-to-Human Transmission (Scientific American) To date, roughly 103 people have been infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus--or bird flu. Yet few, if any, of them have spread the disease to other humans. A virus's ability to spread is the key to its ability to create a pandemic. [News Source]

Combo Vaccines Show Promise against Bird Flu (Scientific American) More than 150 million birds have been killed by various strains of avian flu, according to the World Health Organization. Outbreaks in Asia and Europe have only been contained by wiping out poultry flocks. Various vaccines to date have proven ineffective or difficult to administer. [News Source]

Bird flu: Who’s next? Bangladesh!The Role of Public Administration (News From Bangladesh) In comparison to malaria and diarroeal diseases, which together kill over 3 million people every year, bird flu has killed very few people. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the H5N1 virus may mutate into a new human flu virus against, which humans have no immunity. [News Source]

Thais Make Cheap Generic Bird Flu Drug (OneWorld.net via Yahoo! News) BANGKOK, Aug 4 (IPS) - Having succeeded in producing cheap generic drugs to help people with HIV/AIDS enjoy longer lives, Thailand is now ready with generics capable of helping its citizens fight the potential onslaught of another deadly virus -- bird flu. [News Source]

Shock at German zoo after bird flu kills swan (Khaleej Times) DRESDEN, Germany - Animal-lovers were in shock Friday after avian influenza infected a zoo animal for the first time in Germany, where bird flu has so far only killed wild animals and farm poultry. [News Source]

Bird-flu tests on Indonesians are negative. At least six Indonesians from the same area of Sumatra island who were hospitalized amid fears they had bird flu have tested negative for the virus. [News Source]

Thai Bird Flu Case Suggests Under-Reporting in Fowl (Update2) (Bloomberg.com) Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- A 17-year-old man who died of bird flu in Thailand last week, the country's first case this year, suggests the virus is being under-reported in poultry, the influenza team at the European Centre for Disease Surveillance and Control said. [News Source]

Thai, Lao reset bird flu cooperation meeting (MCOT) BANGKOK, Aug. 4 (TNA) - Thailand and Laos will meet regarding cross-border cooperation to fight the return of avian influenza (bird flu) after a new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 viral strain was confirmed in poultry farms in a northeastern Thai province bordering Laos. [News Source]

MEDEX Assistance Expands Avian Flu Info Outreach: Comprehensive New Website Is A Free Resource For Corporate And (Medical News Today) Expanding its longstanding coverageand counsel regarding the avian flu, MEDEX Assistance today launched acomprehensive new website that provides the very latest authoritativeupdates on the potential pandemic. [click link for full article] [News Source]

Indonesia: 7 Test Negative for Bird Flu (New York Times) Seven residents of the same area of Sumatra who were hospitalized amid fears of a new A (H5N1) avian flu cluster have tested negative for the virus and their conditions are improving, officials said. Specimens taken from the patients all came back negative in local tests, said Nyoman Kandun, a Health Ministry official. [News Source]

Bird flu may have hit storks in Ho Chi Minh City (Reuters via Yahoo! Asia News) HANOI (Reuters) - Preliminary tests on wild storks at a theme park in Ho Chi Minh City showed the birds might be infected with an avian influenza virus, a Vietnamese official said on Friday. [News Source]