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(CIDRAP News) – In response to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a US cow last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced a lengthy set of new rules to shield FDA-regulated foods and food supplements from BSE-contaminated material.

(CIDRAP News) – Indonesia today joined the rapidly growing list of countries with poultry outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, while more human cases and deaths were confirmed in Vietnam and Thailand.

(CIDRAP News) – Thailand and Cambodia joined the list of countries affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza today as both human and poultry cases were confirmed in Thailand and a poultry outbreak was reported in Cambodia.

(CIDRAP News) – Only five states reported widespread influenza cases last week, but the nationwide number of child deaths related to the flu this season climbed to 111, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) warned today that the avian influenza outbreaks and related human cases in East Asia may get worse, while worries about a possible outbreak mounted in Thailand.

(CIDRAP News) – Chinese authorities have approved the first human trial of a SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) vaccine, Chinese state news agencies reported yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it has found no more cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) after testing 129 cattle from the herd that was the last home of the nation's only cow known to have the disease.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said today it is launching an effort to quickly develop a vaccine against influenza A(H5N1), the avian flu virus that has caused at least five human deaths in Vietnam.

(CIDRAP News) – Chinese authorities said laboratory tests have confirmed two previously suspected cases of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in Guangdong Province, but the World Health Organization (WHO) said more test results are needed for full confirmation.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed a fourth fatal human case of avian influenza in Vietnam and voiced concern that conditions there have a potential for triggering an influenza pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – World Health Organization (WHO) investigators have found evidence that may link one of the suspected SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) cases in southern China to civets, according to news reports from the region.

(CIDRAP News) – A retrospective study indicates that this year's injected influenza vaccine did little to prevent influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) among workers at a Denver hospital, but the study had many limitations and the vaccine is still recommended, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

(CIDRAP News) – Influenza continued to decline last week as only 20 states reported widespread cases, down from 38 states the previous week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said this week that the case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States signals that many countries need to strengthen their BSE-control programs.

Jan 13, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – Highly pathogenic avian influenza has popped up at another farm in South Korea, this one widely separated from the site where the last cases were found 9 days ago, according to Korean newspaper reports.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials today announced a ban on the importation of civets into the United States because of the suspicion that the animals can spread the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus to people.

Editor's note: This story was updated Jan 14 with additional information from a statement by the WHO's Western Pacific office.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed today that an avian influenza virus has infected humans in Vietnam, raising concern that avian and human viruses could share genes and give rise to a dangerous new influenza virus.

(CIDRAP News) – A 35-year-old man in Guangdong Province has China's third suspected case of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) since the global outbreaks ended last summer, Chinese officials said today.

The man fell ill with a fever Dec 31 and was sent to a hospital Jan 6, according to Xinhua, China's state news agency. He was transferred to No. 8 People's Hospital of Guangzhou Jan 9 and is recovering there, the report said.

(CIDRAP News) – Official sources have confirmed outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Vietnam and Japan, and one media report said the Vietnamese outbreak may be linked to the deaths of 11 people in Hanoi.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said today it will euthanize about 129 cattle in Washington state because of a risk that some of them were raised in Canada with the cow that was recently found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).