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Below is a roundup of the key developments on the spread of the bird flu virus (H5N1) and the threat it poses to human health. Each title is a link to the full article.


Click here to see the latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures of confirmed human cases.


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Tuesday 2 May 2006
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Jakarta wants world to fulfil bird flu aid pledges
Indonesia, the country with the most bird flu deaths this year, has not yet received any of the funds that donors pledged to fight the disease, a minister has said (Source: Reuters).


Experts say bird flu virus has become more hardy
Experts urged nations not to lower their guard against the H5N1 virus, saying it now survives longer in higher temperatures and in wet and moist conditions (Source: Reuters).


Stopping air travel ‘will not halt bird flu’
UK experts say closing international airports will do little to halt a bird flu outbreak, saying that even if 99.9 per cent of travel were stopped very few cities would escape a pandemic (Source: The Guardian).


Japan to spend US$30m on South-East Asian Tamiflu stockpile 
Japan plans to spend US$30 million on a Tamiflu stockpile to help stop the spread of avian influenza should a human pandemic start in South-East Asia (Source: Bloomberg).


UN-led alliance to develop bird flu early warning system
An alliance of organisations led by the UN will develop an early warning system to alert countries and communities of the arrival of potentially infected wild birds (Source: PakistanTimes.net).


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Monday 1 May 2006
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Egypt’s latest bird flu patient recovers
The Egyptian Health Ministry announced that the country’s latest bird flu patient, an 18-year-old girl from Kafr el-Sheikh, has recovered from the disease (Source: Xinhua).


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Saturday 29 April 2006
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China defends its record of bird flu reporting
China has defended its record of reporting human cases of bird flu, saying they have been prompt and transparent (Source: Reuters).


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Friday 28 April 2006
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Indonesian man dies of bird flu
A 30-year-old Indonesian man died of bird flu on Wednesday according to local tests; if the results are confirmed by a WHO laboratory he would be Indonesia’s 25th H5N1 death (Source: Reuters).


Vietnam calls for more international aid
Vietnam needs some US$400 million to fight bird flu, 50 per cent of which is expected to come from international donors, a local official has said (Source: Xinhua).


Vietnam to unveil advanced plan to fight bird flu
Vietnam will present a five-year plan to contain the virus among people and animals at an Asia-Pacific conference next week, international officials have said (Source: Reuters).


Latin America at lowest of risk bird flu – FAO
Latin America is the area at the lowest risk of a bird flu epidemic, said the head of animal health for the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, but the region “must think ahead” (Source: Xinhua).


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Thursday 27 April 2006
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China reports 18th human bird flu case
An eight-year-old Chinese girl has been infected with H5N1, according to the World Health Organization (Source: Reuters).


Côte d’Ivoire to start poultry slaughter
Côte d’Ivoire prepared to slaughter chickens and tightened restrictions on movements of poultry after local tests identified outbreaks of bird flu in Abidjan (Source: Reuters).


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Wednesday 26 April 2006
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Do not give in to ‘bird flu fatigue’, says WHO expert
The world must prepare for a long-term fight against bird flu and not give in to fatigue that seems to have set in, a senior World Health Organization official has warned (Source: Reuters).


Deadly bird flu strain confirmed in Côte d’Ivoire
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) confirmed the first case of H5N1 in Côte d’Ivoire, where 17 infected birds were found in the Abidjan area (Source: Xinhua).


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Tuesday 25 April 2006
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Asian nations team up for bird flu research
Five Asian nations will collaborate on research to identify ways of fighting bird flu, such as whether to vaccinate poultry after outbreaks of the disease (Source: SciDev.Net).


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Monday 24 April 2006
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Thailand prepares for new bird flu outbreak
The Thai public health ministry is preparing for a new outbreak of bird flu; it has stockpiled 1.5 million does of Tamiflu, and has offered help to neighbouring countries to curb the spread of disease (Source: Asia News Network).


Afghanistan: H5N1 strain of bird flu hits fourth province
H5N1 has been detected in the eastern Kapisa province, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has confirmed (Source: Reuters).


World Bank makes US$34.4 million bird flu loan to Turkey
The World Bank has approved a US$34.4 million loan to help Turkey combat avian flu in birds and humans (Source: Reuters).


Nanoparticle enhancer for bird flu vaccine shows promise in mice
A new study has suggested that BioSante’s nanoparticle vaccine enhancer, BioVant, may help the development of a vaccine against bird flu (Source: Marketwatch.com).