India declared free of bird flu (Calcutta News) India Monday declared itself free from the avian influenza (H5N1), the agriculture ministry said here. The government has notified the World Organisation for Animal Health of this development. [News Source]

India declares itself free from Bird Flu (Press Trust of India) New Delhi, Oct 26 (PTI) India has declared itself free from Bird Flu, or the Avian Influenza (H5N1), and has notified the same to the World Organisation for Animal Health. [News Source]

Catch it! Bin it! Profit from it! Final arrangements were being made for the mass worldwide shipping of GSK's H1N1 vaccine Pandemrix. The old drugs would still be used with limited purpose by those who weren't protected by the jab, but now there was a new way of safeguarding our health in an unpredictable world. Until, perhaps, next time. [News Source]

News From The Journals Of The American Society For Microbiology (Medical News Today) Genes May Determine Susceptibility to H5N1 Avian Influenza A Virus Infection A new study found genetic variations in mice affect their susceptibility to and severity of H5N1 avian influenza A virus infection suggesting that humans who contract the virus may be genetically predisposed. The researchers from St. [News Source]

Genes May Determine Susceptibility To H5N1 Avian Influenza A Virus Infection (Science Daily) A new study found genetic variations in mice affect their susceptibility to and severity of H5N1 avian influenza A virus infection suggesting that humans who contract the virus may be genetically predisposed. [News Source]

Some firms seen lagging on H1N1 flu preparations (Business Insurance) Employers' preparedness for an H1N1 flu pandemic this year varies widely. There are well-prepared firms with detailed plans in place, some of which are updated versions of plans developed in response to the avian flu scare in 2005; others, however, are just starting to think about it, observers say. [News Source]

Evidence of sexual transmission of avian flu found (Press TV) As the number of bird flu infected cases often peak during the mating season, scientists claim the virus can be a sexually transmitted infection - at least in ducks. [News Source]

New scrutiny of pig farming. Many experts think pig farming presents a serious and overlooked risk to public health. Little is known about the origin of the novel H1N1 virus. But one thing is virtually certain: The pandemic influenza now infecting the people of more than 190 countries began in a pig. [News Source]

Check It Out (Israel National News) BiondVaxm, an Israeli company located in Rehovot, says it has developed a vaccine that can treat all forms of flu - including swine flu and bird flu - and does not require annual inoculations to renew the vaccinations. [News Source]

No change in policy on flu samples: Indonesia (Gulf Times) Indonesia does not intend to resume sharing bird flu samples with other countries until there is a global mechanism for virus sharing in place, the newly appointed health minister said yesterday. [News Source]

Health officials answer common flu questions (The Bakersfield Californian) If you're having a hard time keeping up with the swirl of information surrounding H1N1 (swine) flu, seasonal flu, bird flu and maybe even your chimney flue, you're not alone. So we collected a batch of frequently asked questions and sought out answers. [News Source]

WHO: swine flu deaths rise to nearly 5,000, Glaxo says kids may only need 1 vaccine dose. Nearly 5,000 people have reportedly died from swine flu since it emerged this year and developed into a global epidemic, the World Health Organization said Friday. [News Source]