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(CIDRAP News) – US and Japanese negotiators have reached general agreement on steps for resuming their beef trade after a 10-month interruption caused by the discovery of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Washington state last December.

(CIDRAP News) – Avian influenza concerns rose on two continents today as Thai authorities announced another human death from the H5N1 strain and European officials alerted travelers about two airline flights that had carried infected eagles from Thailand to Belgium last week.

(CIDRAP News) – MedImmune will produce another million doses of its nasal-spray influenza vaccine, FluMist, which could free up some injectable flu vaccine for high-risk groups, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson announced yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – The United States had fewer reported disease outbreaks linked to drinking water in 2001 and 2002 than in the preceding 2 years, and they affected about half as many people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

(CIDRAP News) – About 80 tigers have died or been euthanized at a Thai zoo in the wake of an apparent avian influenza outbreak that may have been caused by consumption of infected chicken carcasses, news agencies are reporting.

Thirty-two tigers have died of H5N1 avian flu at the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, about 50 miles from Bangkok, and 51 more were euthanized, according to a Reuters report today.

(CIDRAP News) – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) asserted this week that weaknesses in the government's systems for handling food recalls increase the risk that consumers will buy and eat unsafe food.

(CIDRAP News) – Avian influenza probably infected at least 1,000 people during a major outbreak in the Netherlands in 2003, many more than originally thought, Dutch researchers say.

Results of antibody tests of poultry workers suggested that at least 1,000 people were infected with the H7N7 avian flu virus, according to research conducted by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

(CIDRAP News) – Seeking to calm public worries about the influenza vaccine shortage, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson announced today that Aventis Pasteur will produce another 2.6 million doses for distribution in January.

(CIDRAP News) – A government official in Thailand said 23 tigers at a private zoo died of avian influenza after eating the carcasses of chickens believed to have had the disease, the Associated Press (AP) reported today.

Meanwhile, thousands of chickens have died in new outbreaks of avian flu in southern Vietnam this month, despite official statements that the disease was under control, according to news services.

(CIDRAP News) – In response to an apparent increase in illnesses due to contaminated produce, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today released an "action plan" for reducing microbial contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials today ruled out using any of Chiron Corporation's influenza vaccine in the United States this year, following the completion of inspections at the company's plant in Liverpool, England.

(CIDRAP News) –The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a new guideline to prevent the use of cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in any animal feed.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal researchers report they have succeeded in infecting monkeys with fatal smallpox, creating the first animal model of the disease for use in testing vaccines and treatments for humans.

(CIDRAP News) – Two billion people around the world get sick from unsafe food each year, but following five simple rules could significantly reduce that toll, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – Lettuce has been implicated in an outbreak of Salmonella infection that has involved more than 350 cases in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

(CIDRAP News) – To cope with the loss of nearly half of the nation's influenza vaccine supply, federal health officials and Aventis Pasteur announced plans today to distribute Aventis's 22.4 million remaining doses to those who need them the most.

(CIDRAP News) – The antiviral drug cidofovir is one of very few agents used to treat serious side effects of smallpox vaccination. In a recent study, a topical form of cidofovir worked better than an intravenous formulation to protect mice from the effects of vaccinia, the smallpox vaccine virus.

(CIDRAP News) – Southeast Asian nations have agreed to band together to coordinate response to the deadly avian influenza outbreak that has caused 31 human deaths and widespread poultry losses.

(CIDRAP News) – Lester Crawford, acting director of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), appearing before the House Committee on Government Reform yesterday, said he was pessimistic about the possiblility that any of the 48 million doses of influenza vaccine expected in the United States from Chiron Corp. can be salvaged for use this flu season, according to new service reports.

(CIDRAP News) – The first US case of Lassa fever since 1989 is a reminder that physicians need to consider exotic diseases when making diagnoses, noted the Oct 1 edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).