Alberta chicken farmers urged to guard against avian flu (CBC Edmonton) The Alberta Chicken Producers group is asking farmers to step up protective measures against avian influenza after the virus was discovered at a Saskatchewan farm earlier this week. [News Source]

Bird flu virus can pass mother to child: study. The H5N1 bird flu virus can pass through a pregnant woman's placenta to infect the fetus, researchers reported on Thursday. [News Source]

State Drill Addresses Bird Flu (Southwest Times Record) LITTLE ROCK — About 80 health officials on Thursday were presented a variety of scenarios involving a deadly avian flu outbreak in Arkansas and asked how they would address the problem and protect the health and safety of citizens. [News Source]

Bird flu virus can pass from mother to fetus: study (CTV.ca)

An autopsy performed on a pregnant Chinese woman who died from H5N1 avian flu infection showed the virus passed to the fetus, Chinese researchers report in the journal The Lancet.

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Avian flu in Sask. ’cause for concern,’ says Manitoba producers’ group (CBC Manitoba) Manitoba chicken producers are keeping a close eye on Saskatchewan, where avian influenza has been confirmed at a large chicken farm near Regina. [News Source]

Poultry farm under avian flu quarantine (Canada.com) Chickens are seen in a poultry farm. REGINA - A large poultry farm in Saskatchewan is under quarantine following a weekend outbreak of avian flu. [News Source]

Avian flu closes farm (The Globe and Mail) Poultry operation north of Regina under quarantine after officials confirm strain of avian flu [News Source]

H5N1 Bird Flu Virus Strain Can Pass Through Placenta To Unborn Fetus (Medical News Today) The H5N1 avian influenza virus strain can infect an unborn fetus by passing through the placenta. The virus can also infect other adult organs apart from the lungs, according to an article in The Lancet published this week. Professor Jiang Gu, Peking University, Beijing, China and team examined post-mortem tissue samples of two adults, one male and one pregnant female. [click link for full ... [News Source]

Health officials discuss bird flu preparedness (Arkansas News Bureau) By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - About 80 health officials on Thursday were presented a variety of scenarios involving a deadly avian flu outbreak in Arkansas and asked how they would address the problem and protect the health and safety of citizens. [News Source]

Crucell says discovers antibodies to treat, prevent H5N1 avian flu virus (Sharewatch) AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - Crucell NV said it has discovered human monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of the avian flu virus. [News Source]

Deadly bird flu can pass from mother to fetus (AFP via Yahoo! News) The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu can pass through the placenta of a pregnant woman to her unborn fetus, scientists reported Friday. [News Source]

Avian influenza that is not harmful to humans found on chicken farm in Canada (Pravda Ru) Avian influenza that is not harmful to humans has been confirmed at a large chicken farm in Regina, Saskatchewan. The flu is the H7N3 strain - the same one behind a 2004 outbreak in British Columbia that saw 17 million chickens destroyed, but not the strain dangerous to humans, said veterinarian Dr. Sandra Stephens during a press conference in the city. [News Source]