ENVIRONMENT-ASIA: Farmers Unfazed by Bird Flu

It may look like everything is going against them but with a little bit of luck, lots of hard work and creativity, small poultry farmers who have been affected by avian flu outbreaks have a good chance of economic survival, say experts here.

HEALTH-ASIA: Four Years On Questions Hover on Bird Flu

Four years after the first outbreak of avian flu, experts say many key questions hover around the disease: what kind of contact between fowl and humans leads to its transmission to people, and how effective can poultry vaccination really be.

HEALTH: ‘Avian Flu Spread by Poultry, Not Wild Birds’

The search for answers to the spread of the deadly bird flu virus is calling into question a long-held practice in science where recognition is given to positive test results, say experts meeting in the Thai capital.

HEALTH-INDIA: On War Footing to Stamp Out Bird Flu Outbreak

For the past fortnight, the menu on the Manipur state government’s table has changed from the staple of fighting HIV infections to stamping out an outbreak of avian influenza.

HEALTH-THAILAND: Avian Flu Campaigns Reach Schools

Grade 7 student Sakulrathna Muadkum says she knows what avian influenza is. "I saw posters of it and I will simply not eat chicken that died of the flu," the pupil at Watnuannoradit School, here in Thai capital, said nonchalantly.

KENYA: New Health Rules a Challenge to Implement – More Costly to Ignore

Just two months remain before the international community is scheduled to take a critical step forward in addressing global health threats, marked by the entry into force of the updated 'International Health Regulations'.

HEALTH-LAOS: On the Bird Flu Map

A spell of good fortune that South-east Asia's poorest country enjoyed for three years ran out this month. Laos has become the 11th country in the world to record a human death from the bird flu virus.

HEALTH-INDONESIA: Mothers Join Bird Flu Awareness Campaign

Not content with the government’s public awareness campaign against bird flu, a group of parents in Bekasi regency has taken the initiative in educating the poor and the marginalised about the deadly disease.

HEALTH-INDONESIA: Poultry Ban Hits Jakarta Residents Hard

A ban on backyard poultry, ordered earlier this month to contain the spread of the bird flu virus, has hit many of the Indonesian capital’s 12 million residents hard since they depend on keeping chickens and ducks for a living.

HEALTH: Report Blames Factory Farms for Bird Flu

Factory farms are responsible for both the bird flu and emissions of greenhouse gases that now top those of cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), according to a report released Monday.

HEALTH-VIETNAM: Choosing Illegal Duck Breeding to Penury

On a rough, earthen road flanked by green rice paddies, Phan Anh Tam throws unhusked rice, mixed with mash and dried fish, to thousands of white ducks waddling around his thin legs.

HEALTH-INDONESIA: WHO Feathers Ruffled Over Bird Flu Vaccine

A decision by the Indonesian government to be selective about sending local samples of the bird flu virus to the World Health Organisation (WHO) reflects fears harboured by developing countries of being marginalised in the race to find a vaccine for this deadly disease.

HEALTH-LAOS: Women Recruited Into War on Bird Flu

Women from ethnic communities in the hilly, northern part of Laos have, for over a decade, been drawn into poultry breeding as a means of combating poverty.

HEALTH-ASIA: Bird Flu Awareness – No Preventive

The upsurge in bird flu outbreaks in South-east Asia has raised a paradoxical question: does high community awareness of the disease, that at the start of the new year killed thousands of ducks and chickens in the region and five Indonesians, lead to behaviour change that could prevent the spread of the H5N1 virus globally?

HEALTH: Vietnam Faces Bird Flu Resurgence

Vietnam's glory as star performer in fighting avian influenza in 2006 is being stripped as the deadly virus reappears in the southern Mekong Delta region. February may see the epidemic sweeping through the entire country, officials warn.

HEALTH-VIETNAM: Winter Vigilance Against Bird Flu

For poultry farmer Tuan Thom, the onset of winter calls for extra vigilance against bird flu. And he is not letting his guard down though avian influenza has claimed no human victim in Vietnam during the past 12 months, nor have there been any poultry outbreaks.

HEALTH-MONGOLIA: Where Migratory Birds Are Bad News

Each time Oranchimeg Bat sees a migratory bird in her poultry farm just outside the Mongolian capital, it sends shivers down her spine.

HEALTH-ASIA: Community Action Clips Bird Flu

This winter, Vietnam is well prepared for the bird flu virus which is believed to spread faster under cooler weather conditions.

HEALTH-INDONESIA: Building Awareness Against Bird Flu

On a recent evening, Muhammad Farhan worked the crowd in an up-market café with the banter that has earned him fame as one of Indonesia's popular talk show hosts. A new book by a local author- In Bed with Models'- set the tone for this off-the-air performance.

THAILAND: Bird Flu Fear Edges Out Small Farmers

To be a duck in a modern poultry farm, that conforms to bio-safety measures against bird flu, is to be condemned to a brief, joyless life bereft of sunshine or a pond to take a dip in.

ENVIRONMENT: ‘Migratory Birds Not Spreading Bird Flu’

When new strains of the deadly bird flu virus were recently detected in poultry in Thailand and Laos, wildlife enthusiasts had reason to feel vindicated. The prevailing hot weather was off season for migratory birds, often blamed for spreading avian influenza.