Bird flu update: 18 December 2006 (SciDev.net) Below is a roundup of the key developments on the spread of the bird flu virus (H5N1) and the threat it poses to human health. Each title is a link to the full article. [News Source]

FRANCE INVESTIGATING POULTRY DEATHS, BIRD FLU UNLIKELY (The Tocqueville Connection) NANCY, France, Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) - French authorities ordered tests after the death of several thousand chickens on a farm in eastern France but said it was unlikely to be an outbreak of the deadly form of bird flu. [News Source]

UMd Tests Cell-Cultured Bird Flu Vaccine (AP via Yahoo! Finance) A bird flu vaccine cultured in laboratory-grown cells and not chicken eggs like traditional vaccines is being tested at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. [News Source]

Bird Flu Suspected As 4,000 Chickens Die In France (Nasdaq) (RTTNews) - French officials said on Monday that they cannot rule out the possibility of bird flu in the deaths of about 4000 chickens in a poultry farm in Sarrey in the northeast Haute-Marne region of France on Saturday. [News Source]

2 Geese Die of Bird Flu (St. Petersburg Times) ST. PETERSBURG (SPT ) — Two geese at St. Petersburg’s zoo died of bird flu on Dec. 8, Fontanka.ru reported Monday. The zoo was closed down on Monday. The zoo’s management said the closure was for routine maintenance in the run up for the New Year, it was reported. [News Source]

France tests dead birds, does not suspect bird flu (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Officials are carrying out tests to see what caused the deaths of some 4,000 chickens on a farm in northeastern France, but initial indications did not point to bird flu, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. [News Source]

France tests dead birds, does not suspect bird flu (AlertNet) Source: Reuters PARIS, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Officials are carrying out tests to see what caused the deaths of some 4,000 chickens on a farm in northeastern France, but initial indications did not point to bird flu, the ... [News Source]

The Chicken Littles Were Wrong (The Weekly Standard via Yahoo! News) It's that time of year again--avian flu panic season. [News Source]

Bird Flu Risk Bottoms Out (CBS News) Hysteria over an avian flu pandemic has been good for the Chicken Little media, health officials, drug companies, and even Bush bashers, but billions of dollars have been misallocated from more serious health issues, Weekly Standard says. [News Source]

As climate changes, malaria rises in Africa – in altitude. Kenyan and international researchers are moving closer to showing that climate change - rising temperatures - is tied to malaria's spread into African highlands that long were largely free of the ancient plague. [News Source]

MRSA strain kills two in hospital. A strain of MRSA that has never caused deaths in hospitals has killed two people, and nine others also contracted the strain, which attacks white blood cells and provides sufferers no way to fight infection, according to the Health Protection Agency. [News Source]

Delaware on guard for avian flu. In the fight against avian flu, these are Delaware's front lines: A makeshift field testing site and a high-security lab at the University of Delaware. [News Source]