FDA panel OKs bird flu vaccine as stopgap move (Sun-Sentinel) The first vaccine against avian flu for the United States was endorsed by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Tuesday, but merely as a stopgap measure until better vaccines are developed. [News Source]

County health official to discuss bird flu (Lawrence Journal-World) Kim Ens, a disease control program coordinator for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, will be at Baker University next week to share information about the avian flu. [News Source]

Citing Imperfections, Panel Endorses First Avian Flu Vaccine (New York Times) The endorsement of the vaccine against the avian flu was called a stopgap measure until better vaccines are developed. [News Source]

Sanofi’s Bird-Flu Shot Backed by Advisers to U.S. FDA (Update4) (Bloomberg.com) Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Sanofi-Aventis SA won the backing of U.S. government advisers for a bird-flu vaccine that, if given final approval, would be the first in the country to guard against a potential pandemic virus. [News Source]

Laos confirms first human case of bird flu (AFP via Yahoo! News) A 15-year-old girl from Laos has become the country's first confirmed human case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the communist government and World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. [News Source]

Bird Flu Spreads in Asia as Laos Reports Human Case (Update1) (Bloomberg.com) Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu spread in Asia as Laos reported its first-ever human case of the virus, following an outbreak in poultry. [News Source]

Egyptian health official denies new bird flu case. An Egyptian Health Ministry official denied on Monday a report by the state news agency that a woman from the Nile Delta had tested positive for the deadly bird flu virus. [News Source]

U.S. experts to weigh Sanofi bird flu vaccine. A panel of experts will meet on Tuesday to consider whether the FDA should approve Sanofi-Aventis' experimental bird flu vaccine, which could become the first such product cleared for the U.S. market. [News Source]

FDA says bird-flu vaccine seems safe; efficacy unclear. The Food and Drug Administration said an H5N1 vaccine developed by a unit of Sanofi-Aventis appeared to be safe but it isn't clear how effective the vaccine would be at protecting people against avian influenza. [News Source]

Domestic poultry faces greatest risk from virus. Prevention of infection of domestic poultry is most important in averting a bird flu outbreak in the UAE, warns a regional bird expert. [News Source]

Laos confirms first human case of bird flu (AFP via Yahoo! News) A 15-year-old girl from Laos has become the country's first confirmed human case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the communist government and World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. [News Source]

Kuwait finds new cases of deadly bird flu in fowl (AFP via Yahoo! News) Kuwait has confirmed seven more cases in birds of the avian flu strain that is dangerous to humans, bringing the total number to 39, the health ministry said on Tuesday. [News Source]