New index keeps track of flu threat. Federal health officials Thursday introduced a new system to gauge the severity of a deadly worldwide flu epidemic and to help communities deal with the impending threat. [News Source]

Small changes stop flu virus spread, study finds. Two little changes in the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic stopped it from spreading from one animal to another, a finding that may help determine what will cause the next pandemic, scientists reported on Thursday. [News Source]

U.S. issues guidelines for flu crises. The most serious flu pandemic should immediately prompt strict isolation measures, including sending students home from school for up to three months and quarantining households with sick members. [News Source]

Small changes stop flu virus spread, study finds. Two little changes in the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic stopped it from spreading from one animal to another, a finding that may help determine what will cause the next pandemic, scientists reported on Thursday. [News Source]

Poultry ban enforced in Jakarta. New rules have come into effect in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, banning people from keeping domestic birds. [News Source]

Nigerian woman was exposed to H5N1 virus. A 22-year-old woman died from bird flu after handling infected chicken, Nigeria said on Wednesday, confirming the first human fatality in sub-Saharan Africa. [News Source]

New U.S. bird-flu plan advises when to close schools. Future disease pandemics will be scored in the United States much like hurricanes, with the most severe triggering school closings and changes in the workplace, under federal guidelines issued on Thursday. [News Source]

Indonesia plans to declare bird flu a national disaster. Indonesia will declare bird flu a national disaster, giving the government access to special funds to combat the disease that has killed 63 people, the planning minister said. [News Source]

CDC issues guidelines for battling flu pandemic. States should be prepared to keep children out of school for three months, businesses should be prepared to operate with skeleton workforces - those are examples of the picture sketched by federal officials on how to fight pandemic flu before a vaciine becomes available. [News Source]

Flu pandemic warnings rated like hurricane alerts . A global outbreak of deadly influenza could set the stage for school closings of up to three months and cancellation of public gatherings, under a new federal ranking system that borrows from hurricane forecasting to gauge the severity of a flu pandemic. [News Source]

Flu trackers take a cue from storm watchers. The government will grade the severity of the next flu pandemic the same way forecasters grade hurricane strength - with a ranking system unveiled yesterday to help states determine when they should take increasingly strong steps to combat flu's spread. [News Source]

Government issues pandemic flu plans. In the first wave of a severe flu pandemic, dramatic strategies to keep people away from each other, including closing schools and day care centers for up to three months at a time, might be needed to slow the spread of illness and limit the number of deaths, federal health officials said Thursday. [News Source]