RAF Lakenheath medical facilities called prepared for possible bird flu outbreak (Stars and Stripes) RAF LAKENHEATH, England — A top medical official at Lakenheath said Tuesday that its facilities are prepared for a pandemic influenza outbreak following the recent discovery of the potentially deadly H5N1 avian influenza — better known as bird flu — at a nearby poultry farm. [News Source]

Cats Should Be Monitored For Avian Flu Says FAO (Medical News Today) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that cats should be monitored for signs of bird flu or avian influenza.They said that cats, like humans, can become infected with the deadly strain of the H5N1 virus that causes avian flu, possibly from eating infected birds, or from being in very close contact with infected birds or their feces. [click link for full article] [News Source]

Europe must get to grips with bird flu. A year after deadly H5N1 bird flu first arrived in Europe, the UK is dealing with its first outbreak on a farm. Yet European efforts to track the virus, let alone defend its poultry, are still in disarray. [News Source]

Indonesia signs deal to produce bird flu vaccine. Indonesia, the country hardest hit by bird flu, signed a preliminary deal today with U.S. drug manufacturer Baxter Healthcare Corp. to develop a human bird flu vaccine. [News Source]

Indonesia’s exclusive deal threatens access to bird flu vaccine. Public-health experts worldwide have warned that an exclusive H5N1 vaccine deal that Indonesia has struck with a pharmaceutical company may jeopardise the world's access to a pandemic vaccine. [News Source]

A wild goose chase. For Bernard Matthews, the most obvious consolation for the destruction of nearly 160,000 of his "bootiful" battery-reared turkeys lies in the timing. [News Source]

On a wing & a prayer. Consumers flocked to free-range poultry as an alternative to factory-reared birds. But further outbreaks of avian flu could spell the end of ethical eggs. [News Source]

Research lab funding put in federal budget. Two Georgia congressmen say a proposed upgrade at an Athens lab that specializes in bird flu research could improve Athens' chances for landing the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. [News Source]

Could avian flu spell end free range eggs? Peter Barton is as uneasy as the rest of them. The organic poultry farmer has 50,000 hens scuttling around his fields in East Sussex. He, like many farmers, thought if anyone was going to be hit by bird flu, it would be someone like him. [News Source]

Second farm worker tested for H5N1 strain of bird flu. Doctors are checking a second worker at a Suffolk farm hit by bird flu for the H5N1 virus, the Health Protection Agency said today. [News Source]

Indonesia blames WHO for bird flu deal. Indonesia on Wednesday blamed the World Health Organisation for its decision to stop sharing samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus, claiming the UN agency passed them to pharmaceutical companies to make vaccines that Jakarta had to buy at high prices. [News Source]

Stray cats carry bird flu virus, U.S. Embassy in Indonesia warns. The U.S. Embassy in Indonesia is advising Americans to avoid contact with stray cats in the country, citing confirmed reports of the animals carrying the deadly bird flu virus. [News Source]