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(CIDRAP News) – A leopard in a zoo near Bangkok, Thailand, died of the same H5N1 avian influenza virus that has struck eight Asian countries, according to news service reports today.

(CIDRAP News) – The recent prediction from a panel of experts that the United States is likely to see more cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) does not clash with a previous Harvard University study that described a low risk of the disease, according to a member of the panel.

(CIDRAP News) – Thailand reported two more confirmed human cases of H5N1 avian influenza and another death today, while the United Nations warned that the virus is still spreading in Asian poultry.

In the United States, meanwhile, an outbreak of avian influenza at four live-bird markets in New Jersey was attributed to a low-pathogenic strain that poses no threat to humans.

(CIDRAP News) – Fever, cough, and chest radiograph abnormalities were the most common features in preliminary clinical descriptions of 15 human cases of H5N1 avian influenza, provided today by US and World Health Organization (WHO) officials.

The WHO published information on 10 Vietnamese patients, eight of whom died, while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on five Thai patients, all of whom died.

(CIDRAP News) – A recent case of vaccinia virus transmission from a soldier to his wife and then to their breast-feeding baby suggests a need for greater precautions by smallpox vaccine recipients and breast-feeding mothers who live together, according to a case report published this week.

(CIDRAP News) – An avian influenza virus from a Vietnamese woman who was one of four family members to have the illness did not contain any human flu genes, indicating that the virus did not spread from person to person, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

"Virus genetic material from this woman, as for the other case in this cluster, is of avian origin and contains no human influenza genes," the WHO said.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday that public health must outweigh economic concerns in responding to the highly pathogenic (H5N1) avian influenza crisis in Asia.

The warning came the same day as a report that the Indonesian government had not undertaken a mass slaughter of chickens to stop the outbreaks but was mostly leaving the job to farmers.

(CIDRAP News) – US Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said yesterday they have completed their field investigation after tracing as many cows as possible from the original herd of the nation's first cow known to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

(CIDRAP News) – An outbreak of avian influenza at a farm in Delaware has been blamed on an H7 influenza virus, which does not infect humans, unlike the H5N1 subtype causing the widespread avian flu outbreaks in Asia.

(CIDRAP News) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking a $65 million increase in food security funds in fiscal year 2005, with more than half of the money to be used to improve capabilities for testing food for biological, chemical, and radiological contaminants.

(CIDRAP News) – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), downplaying statements by a regional FAO official, said today it had no evidence that pigs are involved in transmitting the H5N1 avian influenza virus in Asia.

(CIDRAP News) – As the human and animal toll from H5N1 avian influenza continued to rise, United Nations health and agricultural officials at a conference in Rome today endorsed selective vaccination of poultry to fight the spread of the disease.

(CIDRAP News) – One of three Senate office buildings that were closed this week after ricin was found in an office was set to reopen today, but the source of the ricin remained a mystery.

(CIDRAP News) – A panel of experts that reviewed the US response to the nation's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) says there are probably other cases in the United States and recommends increasing restrictions designed to keep BSE-infected materials out of human food and animal feed.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern about China's handling of its fourth recent case of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which involved a 40-year-old physician and hospital director and was revealed Jan 31.

(CIDRAP News) – Test results announced today confirmed that a white powder found yesterday in Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office was ricin, a deadly poison derived from castor beans, according to news services.

(CIDRAP News) – Two more human deaths resulting from H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) were reported in Southeast Asia today, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was investigating two possible cases of person-to-person spread of the disease in Vietnam.

In addition, China reported outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian flu in four more provinces around the country, bringing the number of affected provinces to 10, according to the WHO.

(CIDRAP News) – Highly pathogenic avian influenza has turned up in poultry flocks in two provinces in central China, far from the southern province where the country's first outbreak was reported 3 days ago, Chinese and international health officials said today.

(CIDRAP News) – A outbreak of 37 cases of Salmonella infection in the Northeast has prompted the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue an alert urging consumers to take care in handling raw ground beef.

(CIDRAP News) – The Bush administration today proposed a $274 million program to improve the nation's alertness for bioterrorism by measures such as increasing environmental monitoring, analyzing health data, and inspecting crops and livestock.