Kiwa Bio-Tech Joint Venture to Produce Preventative for Avian Flu (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corporation announced entry into a contract for a joint venture named Hebei Kiwa Huaxing Bio-Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. The joint venture company aims at developing and producing Kiwa's AF-01 anti-viral preventative for avian flu. [News Source]

N. American bird flu viruses adapting more to humans (CTV.ca) North American avian flu viruses of the H7 subtype seem to have adapted to more easily invade the human respiratory tract, a new American study suggests. [News Source]

Fear over Some Bird Flu Strains (ERT.gr) Some bird flu strains have gained ability to attack human cells, causing an epidemic in humans, suggested a study that was released on Monday. [News Source]

Scientists warn of bird flu epidemic (Daily Telegraph) A strain of bird flu has moved a step closer to developing the traits required to create an epidemic of the disease in humans, scientists warned on Monday. [News Source]

Bird flu confirmed in Bangladesh (TVNZ) The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the first human case of bird flu in Bangladesh, a baby boy who has recovered, bringing the number of countries which have recorded human infections to 15. [News Source]

Bird flu strains are evolving: study (AAP via Yahoo!7 News) Some strains of bird flu are coming ever closer to developing the traits they need to cause a human pandemic, a new study warns. [News Source]

North American bird flu viruses becoming more adapted to humans: study (Times & Transcript) North American avian flu viruses of the H7 subtype - like the H7N3 viruses responsible for British Columbia's massive poultry outbreak in 2004 - seem to have adapted to more easily invade the human respiratory tract, a new American study suggests. [News Source]

North American bird flu viruses becoming more adapted to humans: study (The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News) TORONTO - North American avian flu viruses of the H7 subtype - like the one responsible for British Columbia's massive poultry outbreak in 2004 - seem to have adapted to more easily invade the human respiratory tract, a new American study suggests. [News Source]

Mild American Bird-Flu Strains Gained Ability to Attack Humans (Bloomberg.com) May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Mild bird flu strains circulating in North America have gained some ability to infect human cells, and should be monitored for dangerous mutations, government researchers said. [News Source]

Scientists identify second H7 strain of bird flu that could cause pandemic (Times Online) The H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed 241 people is not the only one that could trigger a pandemic, according to research in America. A few H7 strains of the flu virus have started to evolve some of the traits they would need to infect people easily, scientists have discovered. [News Source]

EFoodSafety Endorses The European Commission’s Marketing Authorization Of GlaxoSmithKline’s Pre-Pandemic Bird Flu … (Medical News Today) eFoodSafety.com, Inc. applauds the European Commission's marketing authorization in the European Union of GlaxoSmithKline's ("GSK") H5N1 pre-pandemic bird flu vaccine Prepandrix™. [News Source]

Farmers keep bird flu at bay (Vietnam Net) VietNamNet Bridge - While the avian flu epidemic spreads nationwide, many big chicken farms in Mekong Delta provinces are still safe from the scourge due to their self-contained chicken raising process and the automatic system of cooling. [News Source]