WHO concerned with new avian flu cases (Manila Bulletin) Experts from the World Health Organization are concerned over the new cases of Avian Influenza or the H5N1 in poultries in Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, saying that the virus may mutate into a new strain if it comes into contact with another influenza virus. [News Source]

Bird flu back on watch list (The New Straits Times) KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has reactivated its avian flu watch following news cases in neighbouring countries. [News Source]

Bird flu back on watch list (MalaysiaNews.net) KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has reactivated its avian flu watch following news cases in neighbouring countries. Deputy director-general of Health, Datuk Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman, said the Health Ministry wa... [News Source]

China expert warns of pandemic flu mutation. China must be alert to any mutation or changes in the behavior of the H1N1 swine flu virus because the far deadlier H5N1 bird flu virus is endemic in the country, a leading Chinese disease expert said. [News Source]

CDC connects H1N1, severe bacteria infections. Federal health officials on Wednesday linked the H1N1 flu epidemic to a sharp rise in the number of severe bacterial infections. [News Source]

GlaxoSmithKline pulls swine flu vaccines in Canada. Drug company GlaxoSmithKline has told Canadian doctors to stop using one lot of its H1N1 vaccine until an investigation into a higher-than-expected number of severe allergic reactions is completed. [News Source]

Impact of swine flu examined. Where we are in the course of the swine flu epidemic? Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center For Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, discusses the severity and impact of swine flu so far. [News Source]

CDC: Swine flu vaccine safe; no big problems seen. There's no evidence that the swine flu vaccine is causing any serious side effects, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, in their first report on the safety of the new vaccine. [News Source]

Islam’s hajj: rain and fears of swine flu. Saudi authorities have been planning ways for months to inhibit the spread of swine flu during the pilgrimage, which is seen as an incubator for the virus. [News Source]

Swine flu linked to serious respiratory disease. Health authorities normally see an increase in respiratory infections associated with seasonal flu, but this year the rate is substantially higher than normal--and they attribute it to the H1N1 pandemic. [News Source]

US sees rise in secondary infections after flu. U.S. health officials said on Wednesday they are seeing a worrying pattern of serious bacterial infections in swine flu patients, mostly among younger adults not normally vulnerable to them. [News Source]

Scientists seek new ways to produce flu vaccine. As the shortage of vaccinations against the new H1N1 swine flu begins to lessen, researchers are working to find ways to prevent flu vaccine shortages from occurring again. [News Source]