Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has negotiated a preliminary agreement designed to maintain the international sharing of influenza virus samples while ensuring that developing countries can obtain pandemic flu vaccines, news services reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – To encourage the public to join discussions on pandemic influenza preparedness, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today launched a 5-week blog on the topic in conjunction with a Jun 13 leadership forum.

(CIDRAP News) – In the first half of 2007, countries reported fewer migratory bird deaths from the H5N1 avian influenza virus, but the virus is still circulating among poultry flocks in several countries, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – More than 11,000 birds died in China's latest avian influenza outbreak this weekend, Reuters News reported today, and another 53,000 birds were culled to bring the outbreak in the southern province of Hunan under control, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today recognized 15 H5N1 avian influenza cases from Indonesia dating back to late January, a few weeks after the country stopped sending H5N1 virus samples to the WHO as a protest against developing nations' lack of equal access to pandemic vaccines.

(CIDRAP News) – Indonesia's health minister announced today at the World Health Organization's (WHO's) annual meeting that the country has resumed sending H5N1 avian influenza virus samples to the WHO, appearing to end a 5-month standoff over developing countries' access to vaccines.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) today released a 3-day online course to teach state and local public health officials how to respond to human cases of H5N1 avian influenza.

(CIDRAP News) – Indonesia's health ministry reported today that a 26-year-old pregnant woman who died 2 days ago tested positive for H5N1 avian flu, making her the country's second fatality in as many weeks.

The woman, who was 4 months pregnant, died at a hospital in Medan in North Sumatra, a health ministry official identified as Joko told Agence France Presse (AFP).

(CIDRAP News) – The dispute over the sharing of H5N1 avian influenza samples was high on the agenda as the annual meeting of World Health Organization (WHO) member countries began today in Geneva.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that "a number" of human vaccines against the H5N1 avian influenza may become available soon, but declined to say whether they should be used before a flu pandemic arises.