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Bird flu tests on Maryland wild Mallard ducks confirm low-pathogenic H5N1

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior today announced final test results, which confirm that an H5N1 avian influenza virus detected in fecal samples collected last month from resident wild mallard ducks in Maryland is a low pathogenic subtype.

12 Sep 2006

Hand gel kills bird flu virus and Indonesian update

A company in the UK has come up with a hand gel which has the ability to kill the H5N1 bird flu virus in under a minute.

11 Sep 2006

Why H5N1 bird flu is so lethal

Researchers in Vietnam have discovered why the H5N1 bird flu virus currently at large is so lethal to humans.

11 Sep 2006

WHO publishes new guidelines for safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater

In many parts of the world, good quality fresh water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. At the same time, wastewater is produced in ever-larger quantities, mainly as a result of the continued growth of the human population and the process of rapid urbanization.

11 Sep 2006

GPS the latest tool in fight against avian influenza

Wearing light solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters, wild swans from Mongolia are winging their way across Eurasia, while land-bound scientists tracking the birds' journeys on computers say that these unique studies will shed light on how wild birds may be involved in the spread of avian influenza.

6 Sep 2006

H5 and N1 avian influenza found in Pennsylvania wild bird samples

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior today announced that the presence of the H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from wild mallard ducks in Pennsylvania.

5 Sep 2006

Bird flu flys into Egypt again

Four new cases of bird flu have been detected in poultry in Egypt, after a two month infection free period.

5 Sep 2006

Ducks in Pennsylvania found with a strain of bird flu

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found bird flu in wild ducks in Crawford County in northwestern Pennsylvania as part of a routine sampling procedure, but the strain is apparently not the deadly H5N1 strain currently sweeping across Asia.

4 Sep 2006

Kids will eat more fruits and less fat

School lunches and vending machines aren't the only places to look for ways to improve students' nutrition. Modest changes in the kinds of snacks offered at after-school programs can also have a significant positive impact on children's diets.

30 Aug 2006

13,000 plus wild birds in Alaska tested, no bird flu found

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has announced that their departments and the State of Alaska have tested more than 13,000 wild migratory birds for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in Alaska.

30 Aug 2006

Bird flu detection information on wild birds now available online

The public can now view a Web site showing current information about wild bird sampling for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the United States.

24 Aug 2006

British farmer dies from rabbit flu

An apparently healthy young farmer in Britain has died from rabbit flu.

21 Aug 2006

Indonesia plays down bird flu cluster as family takes child home with suspected bird flu

The Indonesian Ministry of Health has confirmed the country’s 59th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus in a 35-year-old woman from the district of Cikelet, in West Java Province.

21 Aug 2006

H5 and N1 avian influenza found in two samples from wild mute swans in Michigan

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior has announced that routine surveillance has indicated the presence of H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from two wild mute swans in Michigan.

17 Aug 2006

Wild swans in the U.S. found to have strain of H5N1 bird flu

Officials at the Agriculture Department in the United States have found two swans in a Michigan gaming area with possibly another strain of the bird flu virus.

14 Aug 2006

Bird flu doing the rounds in Cambodia again

According to officials in Cambodia a second outbreak of bird flu has occurred there this year in southeast Prey Veng, the same province where the H5N1 virus killed a boy in April, about 20 km from the Cambodia-Vietnam border.

14 Aug 2006

Ancient blue war paint from plant rich in cancer fighting compound

Glucobrassicin, a compound in plants which is known to be an anti-cancer agent has been discovered in a plant that gave ancient Britons and Celts their blue war paint.

14 Aug 2006

USDA, DOI and state partners begin monitoring wild migratory birds in lower 48 states

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today announced that their departments are expanding wild bird monitoring for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.

9 Aug 2006