LONG OVERDUE UPDATES PART 1

It's been a month since we've updated this site. A much needed vacation got in the way of regular reportage on the spread of bird flu across the planet. And there's plenty of news to report.

We should be able to get back to four or five times a week updates pretty soon, so thanks to our regular readers for your patience.

The following list of stories will be two to four weeks old. It is important to add vital stories we missed over the month off so the history of the bird flu spread as catalogued by this blog is more complete.

Let's get into it the recap :


INDIA DECLARES ITSELF "BIRD FLU FREE" AFTER THREE MONTHS OF NO NEW OUTBREAKS


PRESIDENT BUSH ADVOCATES USE OF MILITARY TO ENFORCE PANDEMIC FLU QUARANTINES IN EVENT OF OUTBREAK

Interesting questions raised in this story about just how far the US government will go to quarantine those infected, or believed to be potentially infected, with any form of pandemic flu, including H5N1.

RUSSIA ALLOCATES ONE BILLION RUBLES TO FIGHT THE VIRUS THAT HAS DEVASTATED ITS MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR POULTRY INDUSTRY


AUGUST 14 : NETHERLANDS CONFIRMS OUTBREAK OF BIRD FLU VIRUS IN OWLS


AUGUST 13 : CAMBODIA REPORTS FRESH OUTBREAK OF H5N1 VIRUS


AUGUST 10 : UNITED STATES - BIRD FLU MONITORING QUIETLY GOES NATIONWIDE


AUGUST 9 : THAILAND ACCORDS H5N1 VIRUS NATIONAL THREAT STATUS


AUGUST 8 : INDONESIA - TWO TEENAGERS DIE FROM BIRD FLU VIRUS, ONE PERSON NOW DIES PER WEEK ON AVERAGE


AUGUST 5 : THAILAND REPORTS SECOND HUMAN BIRD FLU DEATH IN 13 DAYS


AUGUST 2 : NORTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - NEW HUMAN INFECTIONS REPORTED, 100,000 CHICKENS SLAUGHTERED


AUGUST 1 : BALI, INDONESIA - HUNDREDS OF DEAD CHICKENS BELIEVED TO BE INFECTED WITH H5N1 VIRUS


GLOBAL CORPORATION SEES SANITISED HAND WIPES AS KEY TO STOPPING VIRUS SPREAD, BUT PREPARES FOR WORLWIDE PANDEMIC EFFECTS


JULY 31 : 300,000 CHICKENS CULLED IN THAILAND AS BIRD FLU OUTBREAK CONFIRMED


MUTATED BIRD FLU VIRUS MIGHT NOT SPREAD AMONGST HUMANS AS EASILY AS ONCE FEARED

The H5N1 virus that has killed humans has repeatedly made its 'home' in its host deep within the lungs. For a mutated bird flu virus to truly reach pandemic proportions, the virus would have to locate itself within the upper respiratory tract, where it could more easily pass itself between humans via breath, sneezing, coughs or close physical contact.

This piece argues that because the virus, thus far, has mostly been found only in the lungs of its human hosts, the likelihood of a pandemic outbreak is well short of a mega-dangerous likelihood.


HOLLAND CULLS THOUSANDS OF BIRDS TO STOP SPREAD OF 'MILD' FORM OF VIRUS


VIETNAM : BIRD FLU MAKES A MOST UNWELCOME RETURN


IRAQ : CATS DIED FROM H5N1 VIRUS DURING RECENT OUTBREAK


INDONESIA CLAIMS IT HAS SLAUGHTERED ALMOST 6 MILLION FOWL, POULTRY IN TWO YEARS TO FIGHT SPREAD OF BIRD FLU VIRUS


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AVIAN INFLUENZA


TIMELINE AND MAP OF BIRD FLU HISTORY AND SPREAD