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(CIDRAP News) – A 48-year-old Thai man who died yesterday had H5N1 avian influenza, marking Thailand's first human case in more than a year, according to Thai officials and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The man, who fell ill after slaughtering sick chickens, had the first case in Thailand since Oct 8, 2004, the WHO said. Thailand has had 18 confirmed cases, including 13 deaths, since the current wave of H5N1 outbreaks began in late 2003.

(CIDRAP News) – The US government has issued about $60 million in contracts to spur development of a vaccine against tularemia, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced recently.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of NIH, has issued two 5-year contracts for vaccine work, the agency said earlier this month. The agency also awarded $87 million in grants to build four biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) labs.

(CIDRAP News) – Chiron Corp. said this week its influenza vaccine production this year probably will be lower than the previous estimate of 18 million to 26 million doses, but officials wouldn't predict how much lower.

(CIDRAP News) – New avian influenza outbreaks were reported today in European Russia, China, and Vietnam, as experts said recent outbreaks in Turkey and Romania have strengthened the suspicion that migratory birds are spreading the H5N1 virus.

In addition, avian flu was suspected in a Thai man who died of a lung infection after killing and eating chickens that might have had the disease.

(CIDRAP News) – The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced today it would build a plant in the United States to make oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and also consider licensing other companies to make the drug in the face of a possible flu pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – A study that tracked influenza cases by age-groups found that preschoolers led the annual parade of flu-related doctor visits, with sick adults following about 29 days later.

(CIDRAP News) – A sample taken from a turkey on a remote Greek island contained an H5 virus, Reuters news service reported this afternoon.

The specific strain has not yet been identified, and the sample was sent for further testing, Greek authorities said.

(CIDRAP News) – The lethal avian flu virus that's prompting concerns about a human pandemic has officially been found in Romania, authorities confirmed over the weekend.

A British laboratory testing the Romanian samples found H5N1 in three birds that had been found dead in the Danube delta, according to Reuters news service on Oct 15.

(CIDRAP News) – A report published today by scientists who isolated an H5N1 virus resistant to oseltamivir from a infected Vietnamese girl further fuels concern over preparedness for a potential and widely anticipated pandemic caused by the strain.

(CIDRAP News) – Armed with full federal approval for the first time in more than a year, Chiron Corp. says it may start shipping influenza vaccine to US distributors next week.

Chiron's first shipments since contamination problems blocked the company's vaccine shipments last year could help ease vaccine shortages caused by slow deliveries, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official said.

(CIDRAP News) – The avian influenza virus long established in Southeast Asia has reached Europe's doorstep, with confirmation today that a lethal virus in Turkey is H5N1 and that an H5 strain in Romania is still being subtyped.

(CIDRAP News) – An outbreak of illness among cruise ship passengers in Alaska in 2004 led to the detection of disease-causing oysters about 620 miles farther north than they had ever been found before, possibly as a result of warming ocean waters.

(CIDRAP News) – A recent and extensive review of research on H5N1 avian influenza in humans shows the illness differs from ordinary flu in several ways, besides the most obvious fact that it is far more deadly.

The report by a World Health Organization (WHO) committee says avian flu may have a longer incubation period and is more likely to cause diarrhea than typical flu viruses are, among other differences.

(CIDRAP News) – A not-yet-released version of the Bush administration's plan for dealing with an influenza pandemic predicts that such an event could exact an enormous toll in life and wealth, according to recent newspaper reports.

(CIDRAP News) – Avian flu extended its reach into new territory by spreading to Turkey and possibly Romania in the past week, while Indonesians face another suspected human case of H5N1 flu and allegations of vaccine-related fraud.

(CIDRAP News) – Indonesian authorities said yesterday a hospitalized 21-year-old man had tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza.

Indonesia's Antara news agency said the man lives in Lampung but did not name him. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in Jakarta indicated avian flu, the report said. A Reuters report described the man as being in stable condition.

(CIDRAP News) – Avian influenza and the threat of a flu pandemic were in the spotlight in Washington, DC, today as officials from 80 nations met to discuss the situation and President Bush was to meet with manufacturers of flu vaccines and drugs.

(CIDRAP News) – Recent US government contracts to test two experimental anthrax drugs could lead to the purchase of up to 100,000 doses of each.

(CIDRAP News) – Influenza researchers marked a milestone yesterday by publishing a report on the complete genetic mapping of 209 samples of human flu viruses, vastly increasing the supply of genetic data on flu.

(CIDRAP News) – Scientists today reported findings that may help explain what made the 1918 pandemic influenza virus so deadly and that reveal similarities between that virus and the H5N1 avian influenza virus now circulating in Asia.