Reports of avian flu outbreak in Iran rejected (IranMania.com) LONDON, February 15 (IranMania) - Head of Iran Veterinary Organization Hossein Hassani denied the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strains bird flu in Amol and Babol, two Iranian cities located in the northern province of Mazandaran, MNA reported. [News Source]

British bird flu farm says not at fault for outbreak (AFP via Yahoo! News) Bernard Matthews, the head of the turkey-producing firm that bears his name, has said that the recent outbreak of a potentialy deadly strain of avian flu at his company's farm was not their fault. [News Source]

Caution urged in blaming wild birds for bird flu (INQ7.net) LUCENA CITY—A conservationist group based in the United Kingdom asked authorities not to be quick in pointing at wild birds as culprits in the spread of the bird flu virus. [News Source]

Bird flu strikes Egyptian woman (Reuters via Yahoo! News) A 37-year-old Egyptian woman tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus and European officials on Wednesday debated whether they needed to take more action after an outbreak of the virus in British turkeys. [News Source]

Agriculture chief allays fears of bird flu case in Sorsogon (ABS-CBNNEWS.com) SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has assuaged fears of a bird flu case in Sorsogon and called on the private sector to take advantage of the growing global poultry market. [News Source]

Forget bird flu: Mad publicity disease is much more scary. Despite the hysteria, the mass cull in Suffolk had nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with industry interests. [News Source]

Expert warns UK must do more to prepare for bird flu. More needs to be done to prepare Britain for a possible bird flu pandemic, a health protection expert warned yesterday. [News Source]

Tests confirm bird flu link to Hungary. The H5N1 bird flu strains found in Hungary and Britain are 99.96% genetically identical and almost certainly linked, according to a final analysis of the viruses by the EU Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, Surrey. [News Source]

Iran vet chief rejects reports of avian flu outbreak in Mazandaran (Payvand Iran News) Head of Iran Veterinary Organization Hossein Hassani denied the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strains bird flu in Amol and Babol, two Iranian cities located in the northern province of Mazandaran. -MNA [News Source]

Japanese egret stirs flu fears in Manila. The Philippines urged people yesterday not to touch migratory birds in case they are infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, after an egret believed to have flown from Japan died two days after being captured by a farmer. [News Source]

Poultry jobs at risk as experts argue. The finger of suspicion was last night pointed again at Hungary after government scientists confirmed the Suffolk strain of bird flu was "essentially identical" to the virus found in the east European country. [News Source]

Don’t spread panic about bird flu, WHO urges media. The United Nations health agency urged local and international media on Tuesday to boost coverage of bird flu and avoid misleading information about the disease. [News Source]