Avian flu may have originated in Southern China (Orange County Register) A province in Southern China may be the epicenter of a pathogenic version of bird flu, according to a genetic map published this week by researchers at UC Irvine. [News Source]

China denies being source of bird flu virus (Reuters via Yahoo! News) China's southern Guangdong province is not the source of the dangerous H5N1 bird flu virus as claimed in a report published in the United States this week, a major state-run Chinese newspaper said on Wednesday. [News Source]

US researchers reconstruct spread of bird flu from China (AFP via Yahoo! News) US researchers have reconstructed the evolution of avian flu and its spread over the past decade from its first origins in southern China, according to a new study. [News Source]

Scientists study history of bird flu virus (UPI) U.S. scientists have reconstructed the history of the avian flu virus, providing information that might help health officials develop interventions. [News Source]

Unusual bird flu vaccine developed (UPI) A British pharmaceutical firm says it has developed a bird flu vaccine that can provide protection against variants of the H5N1 avian influenza strain. ... [News Source]

Tamiflu side effect concerns grow after Japan deaths. Concerns that the influenza drug Tamiflu -- seen as effective against a possible pandemic triggered by bird flu -- may induce fatal side effects are growing in Japan after two people who took it fell to their deaths last month. [News Source]

China is source of bird flu virus, study shows. China's southern Guangdong Province is the source of the dangerous H5N1 avian flu virus, according to a genetic analysis of the virus published on Monday. [News Source]

Experimental bird flu vaccine could be doubly promising. An experimental pandemic flu vaccine appears to protect against infection with bird flu at very low doses and also protects against a variant strain of the virus that doesn't match the one in the vaccine. [News Source]

Battle against bird flu. GlaxoSmithKline PLC's prepandemic flu vaccine based on one strain of the H5N1 bird flu works against other versions of the virus as well, the company said. [News Source]

European Union looks to New York City for health advice. The European Union can learn from New York City as it battles health threats that include smoking and trans fats, EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said Monday. [News Source]

It doesn’t smell bad, it smells of money. While it's easy for people to see the "white flags in the trees" or untreated rubbish piling up in China, in Sweden it has become normal practice to recycle and reuse waste. [News Source]

World experts in Kuwait as more bird flu cases detected (AFP via Yahoo! News) A team of experts from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) arrived in Kuwait where authorities said Tuesday the number of bird flu cases in the emirate has risen to 52. [News Source]