News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – US health officials today gave a mixed report on influenza activity for last week, saying overall activity decreased slightly but more states reported widespread flu than the week before.

In Europe, meanwhile, flu activity increased in several countries, and the United Kingdom and Denmark reported high flu circulation, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) European Regional Office.

(CIDRAP News) – Avian influenza is continuing its spread among birds in many countries worldwide, with widespread outbreaks reported in Myanmar.

More than 100 outbreaks have occurred in poultry in Myanmar (formerly Burma) since the presence of H5N1 avian flu was announced there about a month ago, officials from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told Reuters news service yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – The H5N1 avian influenza virus has spread to Niger and Bosnia-Herzegovina, media outlets said today, and testing is under way on birds found dead in Switzerland, Pakistan, and Kenya.