Bird-Flu Deaths Estimate Revised Upward; PANDEMIC DANGER (RedNova) By SCANLON, Sean The world's next flu pandemic could kill up to 62 million people, says a new study, as concerns mount among medical experts that vaccines developed to fight mutating bird flu will not work. [News Source]

Vietnam family tests negative for bird flu (AFP via Yahoo! News) A Vietnamese family has tested negative for bird flu, a health official said, after their hospital admission with respiratory ailments had sparked fears of a resurgence in human infections. [News Source]

N Korea Reportedly Builds Hospital Ward for Suspected Bird Flu Patients (RedNova) Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul, 31 December: North Korea has completed building a hospital ward for contagious diseases, mainly bird flu, with support from the World Health Organization, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Sunday. [News Source]

Vietnamese family tests negative for bird flu (Channel NewsAsia) HANOI : A Vietnamese family has tested negative for bird flu, a health official said Sunday, after their hospital admission with respiratory ailments had sparked fears of a resurgence in human infections. [News Source]