State health officials still tweaking pandemic plan. With a statewide drill planned for next year to test Texas' preparedness for a possible pandemic flu outbreak, health officials are continuing to tweak the state's response plan. [News Source]

State officials say they’re in good shape preparing for pandemic. The hands-on practice dealing with disasters in recent years have given health officials their best test of what would work and what wouldn't if a flu pandemic hit. [News Source]

Avian influenza nothing to be sick about (The Post and Courier) Now that the first split of the duck season is in the books and the second split has just started, some duck hunters may have concerns about avian influenza, which some people call bird flu. [News Source]

State pandemic preparations vary widely. States and communities are getting creative as they struggle to answer the Bush administration's call to prepare for the next influenza pandemic, whether the culprit is the much-feared Asian bird flu or some other super-strain. [News Source]