Thailand responds to bird flu outbreak (UPI) BANGKOK, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Health officials in Thailand have urged farmers to take special precautions against avian influenza following the discovery of the H5N1 virus in ducks. [News Source]

Avian Influenza In Indonesia – WHO Confirms More Infections (Medical News Today) The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has confirmed the death of a 22-year-old woman from Tangerang City, Banten Province. The woman, whose infection was announced on 12 January, died later that day.The Ministry of Health has also confirmed two additional cases of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. [click link for full article] [News Source]

Thailand reports H5N1 avian flu strain in wild birds. Thailand, the world's fourth-largest poultry exporter, found avian flu in pigeons and other wild birds, prompting the government to intensify surveillance for the lethal virus that threatens to infect humans. [News Source]

Bird flu virus found in Miyazaki confirmed to be highly virulent. The bird flu virus found in Miyazaki Prefecture has been confirmed to be highly virulent, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry announced Tuesday. [News Source]

Experts see bird flu challenge to U.S. health system. A bird flu pandemic remains a threat that the U.S. health care system must take seriously despite less frequent media coverage and the absence so far of human cases in the nation, experts warned. [News Source]

Japan confirms bird flu outbreak. Officials in Japan have confirmed that a recent outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm was the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. [News Source]

2,100 ducks ordered killed as bird flu recurs in Thailand. A new outbreak of virulent bird flu was found in ducks in northern Thailand, officials said yesterday, the first such case in six months. The outbreak of the H5N1 virus was confirmed by laboratory tests. [News Source]

Risk of bird-flu pandemic seen as ‘permanent threat.’ Although fears of an avian-flu pandemic among humans have subsided, experts warn that the risk hasn't vanished. [News Source]

Indonesia targets household chickens. Indonesia announced on Monday its most extensive cull of backyard poultry and a “comprehensive” restructuring of the poultry industry in an effort to contain a growing outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza. [News Source]

Chill, disease killing waterfowl. With icy ponds forcing ducks and geese to crowd closer and closer together, wildlife refuge managers are continuing the grim task of collecting the dead in an effort to slow an outbreak of avian cholera. [News Source]

Asian leaders sign energy pact at landmark summit. Leaders from 16 Asian nations, representing half the world's population, pledged on Monday to develop alternative energy supplies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [News Source]

Japan’s bird flu virus determined as H5N1 strain (People’s Daily) The bird flu virus that killed about 3,500 chickens in southwestern Japan last week was determined as the highly contagious and lethal H5N1 strain, Japan's farm ministry said in a statement Tuesday. [News Source]