Tests for bird flu on two farms (BBC Suffolk) Birds test positive for a strain of avian flu at two poultry farms in Suffolk and Norfolk. [News Source]

New bird flu deaths raise mutation fears (The Monterey County Herald) BEIJING—A handful of new human fatalities from bird flu underscore that the H5N1 virus has become entrenched in some countries, such as China, and that it still could mutate and flare into a global pandemic, U.N. officials said last week. [News Source]

Nigeria: Bird Flu – Country to Benefit From $1.8 Billion World Bank Grant (AllAfrica.com) About 200 countries are to assess a grant of $1.8 billion released by the World Bank to combat the avian influenza disease globally. The grant, which was released by the bank last year, will cover the purchase of vehicles and some equipment by the benefiting countries, including Nigeria. [News Source]

Bird flu remains a threat to humans, U.N. says (San Jose Mercury News) BEIJING — A handful of new human fatalities from bird flu underscore that the H5N1 virus has become entrenched in some countries, such as China, and that it still could mutate and flare into a global pandemic, U. [News Source]

Malaysia approves bird flu vaccine (Emedia) KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is the first country outside Europe to approve a pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine called Prepandrix. [News Source]

Malaysia approves bird flu vaccine (The New Straits Times) KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is the first country outside Europe to approve a pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine called Prepandrix. The Malaysia Drug Control Authority recently approved the new vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). [News Source]

Officials investigate how bird flu viruses were sent to unsuspecting labs (C-Health) Officials are trying to get to the bottom of how vaccine manufacturer Baxter International Inc. made "experimental virus material" based on a human flu strain but contaminated with the H5N1 avian flu virus and then distributed it to an Austrian company. [News Source]

Malaysia approves bird flu vaccine (The New Straits Times) KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is the first country outside Europe to approve a pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine called Prepandrix. [News Source]

WHO and FAO continue to assist Vietnam in combating bird flu (Nhân Dân) Nhan Dan Online - WHO and FAO has confirmed that they will continue to offer assistance to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in order to prevent and combat bird flu disease. [News Source]

Culling over in Dakshin Dinajpur in WB to contain Bird Flu (New Kerala) New Delhi, Feb 24 : Culling operation has been completed in the Avian Influenza-affected Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal and 210 cullers were under chemoprophylaxis. [News Source]

MCOT Public Company Limited.2008 (MCOT – English News By Thai News Agency) VIENTIANE, Feb 25 (VNA) – Laos’ Phongsaly province has become the first locality in the country this year where bird flu was detected when an avian influenza outbreak was confirmed by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) last week. [News Source]

NEWS SCAN: Avian flu, quicker prepandemic vaccine trials, Baxter’s H5N1-tainted samples, vitamin D and flu, ACIP to meet (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy) WHO confirms Vietnam's recent H5N1 death The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the death of a 23-year-old woman from H5N1 avian influenza. Her Feb 21 death raises the country's death toll to 53 among 109 cases, second only to Indonesia, which has 141 WHO-confirmed cases. [News Source]