Latest bird flu Stories

By Megan Rauscher NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new survey shows that Americans fear car accidents, terror attacks, hurricanes and other natural disasters more than they fear bird flu. The national survey of 1,000 Americans was conducted between January 24 and January 25 by marketing and communications research company HCD Research, based in Flemington, New Jersey, in response to recent reports that bird flu may enter the U.S. "What was really clear from the survey was that with all...

By Megan RauscherNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new survey shows that Americans fear car accidents, terror attacks, hurricanes and other natural disasters more than they fear bird flu.The national survey of 1,000 Americans was conducted between January 24 and January 25 by marketing and communications research company HCD Research, based in Flemington, New Jersey, in response to recent reports that bird flu may enter the U.S."What was really clear from the survey was that with all the...

By Twana OsmanSULAIMANIYA, Iraq -- A 14-year-old girl who died in northern Iraq this month had bird flu, Iraq's health minister said on Monday, despite the World Health Organization having initially discounted the virus as the cause of death.A WHO official said preliminary results from a U.S. military laboratory in Cairo showed the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, but it was urgently seeking further tests at a British laboratory.If confirmed it would be the first known human case of the avian...

By Jeremy Smith BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators may allow national governments to vaccinate poultry flocks as a precaution against the spread of dangerous strains of bird flu, officials said on Monday. Until now, vaccination has been allowed only in limited circumstances. But with the lethal H5N1 virus creeping closer -- the latest case is in birds in northern Cyprus -- that may change, especially as the spring migratory season approaches. The European Commission, which monitors...

JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian chicken seller in Jakarta is in hospital after being infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus according to local test results, a senior Health Ministry official said on Wednesday. Hariadi Wibisono, director of control of animal-borne diseases at the ministry, said the 22-year-old man was being treated in a Jakarta hospital designated for bird flu patients. "Local tests show he was positive for bird flu. He is a chicken vendor in a traditional market,"...

By Selcuk Gokoluk ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey accused its neighbors on Friday of hushing up outbreaks of bird flu, complicating the fight against a virus that has killed four Turkish children. "It is unofficially known that this illness exists in our neighboring countries which are ruled by closed regimes, but these countries do not declare this because of their systems," Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker told a news conference. He did not name the countries he had in mind, but Iran and...

By Tom ArmitageZURICH -- Tamiflu, the drug which many governments have stockpiled to ward off a deadly bird flu pandemic, appears to be an effective treatment for the disease if administered early enough, its maker Roche Holding AG said.Roche said on Friday tests on animals showed Tamiflu could work against the current virus but that more studies were needed into how much Tamiflu should be given in order to effectively combat the virus in humans."The results suggest that Tamiflu can...

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey said on Friday its battle against a bird flu outbreak in people and poultry was being made harder by the failure of neighboring countries to admit to having the deadly H5N1 virus. "It is unofficially known that this illness exists in our neighboring countries which are ruled by closed regimes, but these countries do not declare this because of their systems," Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker told a news conference. He did not name the countries but Iran and...

By Bob BurgdorferCHICAGO -- Americans' hunger for chicken has not been slowed by the deadly bird flu that has killed people in Asia and parts of Europe even though surveys show that consumers here are very much aware of the disease, food industry sources said this week.However, if the dangerous H5N1 flu strain ever appears here, some food experts believe companies that produce and sell chicken could be hurt."We have not seen any adverse impact on chicken consumption because of the avian...

By Daren ButlerVAN, Turkey -- The Ozcan family marked New Year's Day with a special meal of duck, slaughtered and prepared by 16-year-old Fatma with help from her little brother Muhammet.A fortnight later Fatma was dead, the fourth Turk killed by bird flu. Five-year-old Muhammet is now fighting for his life on a respirator in the hospital where she died in eastern Turkey.In the Kocyigits' home on New Year's Day, hopes for 2006 were devastated by the death of their teenage son. He was the...