Tests reveal mild avian flu in ducks in 2 states (CIDRAP) Oct 18, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Federal officials announced yesterday that final tests confirmed that a mild strain of H6N2 avian influenza—not the deadly H5N1 type—was found in green-winged teals in Illinois last month. [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]

County prepares for Avian flu pandemic (Stuttgart Daily Leader) The conference room at the Arkansas County Courthouse annex was packed from wall to wall Friday with a representative from nearly every organization on the Grand Prairie. The diverse group's homework was to devise a disaster plan should the Avian flu — or better known as the "bird flu" — hit home. [News Source]

EU earmarks new research fund for avian and pandemic flu. The European Union on Tuesday announced the allocation of 28.3 million euros for a new fund for research projects in the field of avian and pandemic influenza. [News Source]

Zanzibar extends ban on poultry imports. The Zanzibar government has extended its ban on importing poultry and poultry products to prevent the invasion of bird flu. [News Source]

SADC experts warn of bird flu through poultry smuggling. Poultry experts in the Southern African Development Community region have warned of risks of bird flu being spread through poultry smuggling. [News Source]

Kenya issues alert as bird flu reported in southern Sudan. Kenyan authorities have issued an alert following a recent outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in southern Sudan. [News Source]

Americans piled up Tamiflu on bird flu fear. Fears of an outbreak of bird flu led Americans to hoard the anti-viral medicine Tamiflu in 2005, with prescriptions spiking most sharply when media coverage rose. [News Source]

Governments still dither on bird flu, study finds. A third of countries trying to plan for a possible bird flu pandemic have not made any decision on who would be first in line for scarce vaccinations and antiviral drugs. [News Source]

Tamiflu could boost drug-resistant flu in wild birds. In a flu pandemic, millions of people are expected to take the antiviral drug Tamiflu, but new research shows that ultimately much of the drug will pass through the people taking it and end up in waterways. [News Source]

Vaccine protects mice against deadly 1918 virus. Researchers trying to find quicker and better ways to make flu vaccines said on Tuesday they had formulated a vaccine that protected mice against the deadliest influenza virus known -- the one that caused the 1918 pandemic. [News Source]

Swiss place first order for Glaxo bird flu vaccine (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Switzerland on Wednesday became the first country to order a stockpile of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's experimental bird flu vaccine for humans. [News Source]