CDC Awards $11.4M for Bird-Flu Rapid Tests (RedNova) MesoScale of Gaithersburg, Md., and San Diego-based Nanogen are among the companies sharing in a U.S. award to develop bird-flu tests. [News Source]

Cost of battling avian flu rising, World Bank says (CIDRAP) Dec 4, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – The World Bank estimates it will cost between $1.2 and $1.5 billion to fight avian influenza over the next 2 to 3 years, a sizable increase since last January. [News Source]

Bird imports may spread bird flu: study (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Infected poultry imported by Brazil, Canada or Mexico is the most likely route for bird flu to spread into the Americas, a group of researchers predicted on Monday. [News Source]

U.N.: Bird Flu Will Cost Another $1.3B (The Herald-Sun) The U.N. on Tuesday reported progress in the fight against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, but said that risks remain and at least $1.3 billion is still needed as the virus threatens poor regions like Africa. [News Source]

Alert over funding gap in fight against bird flu. Developing countries need up to $1.2bn in extra funding over the next three years to help protect the world from the threat of a flu pandemic. [News Source]

Bird flu fight needs extra $1.2-1.5 bln-World Bank. Global efforts to fight bird flu need $1.2-1.5 billion extra funding over the next two to three years, the World Bank said on Monday, advocating more effective compensation for poultry farmers caught in the front line. [News Source]

More funds sought as bird flu experts worry for Africa (AFP via Yahoo! News) International health experts gather in Mali this week for a bird flu conference amid warnings that Africa risks becoming a permanent host to the virus that has triggered concerns of a global pandemic. [News Source]

Bird-Flu Fight to Cost $750 Mln a Year, UN Envoy Says (Update2) (Bloomberg.com) Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The global fight against bird flu needs as much as $750 million extra a year to stem its spread and prepare for any pandemic it spawns, the United Nations said. [News Source]

HepaLife’s Patented ‘PBS-1′ Cells for Avian Influenza Vaccine Achieve FDA’s Early Guidance Research Objective (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) BOSTON----HepaLife Technologies, Inc. today announced confirmation that the Company's patented 'PBS-1' cells, under development for avian influenza vaccines, are free of pathogens, diseases, bacteria, and potentially harmful viruses. [News Source]

HerbalScience Develops Safe and Effective Treatment for Influenza, Including Avian Flu Strain (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) The world has been on alert since 2003 that the H5N1 virus, commonly known as Avian flu, could be the cause of the next flu pandemic. While the number of human deaths is still very low, fatalities this year have risen 74 percent over last year, according to World Health Organization data; and a recent study conducted by research teams at Johns Hopkins University and Ben-Gurion University stated [News Source]

Bird flu fight needs more cash: World Bank (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Compensating poultry farmers fast and fairly is central to a global fight against bird flu that is projected to cost an extra $1.2-1.5 billion over the next 2-3 years, international experts said on Monday. [News Source]

Bird flu fight needs more cash – World Bank (AlertNet) Source: Reuters (Updates with U.N.'s Nabarro's comments on compensation) By Alistair Thomson DAKAR, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Compensating poultry farmers fast and fairly is central to a global fight against bird flu ... [News Source]