Key facts about bird-flu virus (Lebanon Daily News) Avian flu — or “bird flu” — is not the same as pandemic flu. However, it may be the source of the next pandemic. It is known that all three of the 20th-century pandemics were related to flu viruses that originally came from birds. [News Source]

Physicians implore state to take bird flu seriously (The Daily Star Lebannon) The Council of Lebanese Physicians urged the government on Friday to announce "a state of medical alert" to fight a potential outbreak of avian flu in the country. Lebanon last week said it was increasing its vigilance after cases of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which is dangerous to humans, were detected in Israel and Egypt. [News Source]

Bird flu pandemic risk overblown. Fears of a flu pandemic originating from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus were overblown, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health said Thursday. [News Source]

No reason to worry – Swannery staff. A worker at the reserve where three wild swans have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu said there was "no reason to worry" as staff began a course of drugs as a precaution. [News Source]

Bangladesh: Heightened concerns over bird flu. The recent deaths of a number of exotic birds at Bangladesh's national zoo in Dhaka have heightened concerns over a potential bird flu outbreak. [News Source]

H5N1 bird flu found in dead English swans (UPI) The H5N1 avian influenza virus has been found in three swans found dead in a historic refuge on the south coast of England. [News Source]

Confirmed H5N1 avian influenza in wild swans in Dorset (News-Medical-Net) The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has today confirmed highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza among swans in the Chesil Beach area in Dorset . [News Source]

Egypt villagers say poultry innocent in bird flu deaths (AFP via Yahoo! News) In a dark and muddy alley in the Nile Delta town of Damietta, where Egypt's latest fatal bird flu victim Hanem Atwa Ibrahim lived, inhabitants fear the authorities more than the virus. [News Source]

Confirmed H5N1 Avian Influenza In Wild Swans In Dorset, UK (Medical News Today) The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza among swans in the Chesil Beach area in Dorset . A Wild Bird Control Area and Monitoring Area are being established by Defra around the premises, encompassing Chesil Beach and Portland Bill, and the shape of these is based on expert ornithological advice. [News Source]

Bird flu Risk ‘Overestimated’: OIE Official (CattleNetwork.com) The threat of a worldwide flu pandemic stemming from the highly pathogenic avian influenza strain H5N1 was "overestimated," a World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) official said on Thursday. [News Source]

Avian Influenza – Still A Disease Of Birds, UK (Medical News Today) The British Veterinary Association (BVA) President Nick Blayney underlined the critical role of surveillance amid news of Avian Influenza having been confirmed in a three swans in the Chesil Beach area in Dorset. [News Source]

BANGLADESH: Heightened concerns over bird flu (AlertNet) Source: IRIN The recent deaths of a number of exotic birds at Bangladesh's national zoo in Dhaka have heightened concerns over a potential bird flu outbreak. [News Source]