Commanders’ forum targets avian flu awareness (United States Marines) CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 18, 2006) -- A commanders' educational forum at Camp Foster's Butler Theater Aug. 8 took aim at educating U.S. and Japanese leaders and raising awareness about avian influenza, also known as bird flu. [News Source]

45th Indonesian avian flu death confirmed, team investigates possible cluster (CIDRAP) Aug 17, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – A World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratory confirmed today that a 9-year-old Indonesian girl from the remote Garut district in West Java province who died on Aug 15 had H5N1 avian influenza virus. [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]

Officials Testing Birds For Avian Flu Virus (WTOL News 11) CRANE CREEK STATE PARK -- Even though it's not a public health crisis, the fact that a bird in our area tested positive for a type of bird flu has officials on alert and taking action. [News Source]

Bird flu discovered (Plymouth Pilot News) PLYMOUTH - The United States Department of Agriculture, in a routine check of two wild mute swans in Michigan, announced positive test results for avian influenza (bird flu). [News Source]

In the fight against bird flu (Financial Express) The World Health Organisation (WTO) is the agency most active in coordinating the fight against bird flu. [News Source]

Discovery of Bird Flu Virus Structure Could Herald Better Drugs (Senior Journal) British researchers have taken a step that could lead to more potent drugs against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. They have peered inside a key protein on the surface of the virus, obtaining structural information that chemists could use to design new drugs to block it. [News Source]

Southern Africa mobilized to keep region free of bird flu. Southern African countries have been mobilized to remain vigilant to keep the region free of avian influenza, according to the Southern African Development Community. [News Source]

Study finds new bird-flu drug possibility. Advanced X-ray technology has helped scientists spot a new target that drug designers might use to attack the dreaded bird flu virus. [News Source]

Disposable respirator demand on rise. The threat of a flu pandemic has boosted demand for disposable respirators, and companies or governments stockpiling them face longer waits. [News Source]

Girl dies as bird flu sweeps through village. A nine-year-old Indonesian girl who died this week had bird flu according to two local tests and the village where she lived is rife with the disease. [News Source]

Fighting bird flu with cellphones. Voxiva Inc., a small Washington, D.C., company, has developed a cellphone-based technology that aims to speed up and improve the reporting of flu in birds. [News Source]