HEALTH: Factory Farms Migrate to Developing World

Factory farms are becoming the dominant source of meat and egg production worldwide, creating environmental and social problems as well as conditions that promote diseases like avian flu and mad cow, researchers say.

HEALTH-EUROPE: As Bird Flu Lands, Alarm Takes Off

Alarm and a run on anti-flu medications are taking off across Europe after the first cases of avian influenza in poultry and other birds were confirmed in Romania, Greece, Turkey, and suspected in the Balkan countries.

ROMANIA: EU on Alert After Bird Flu Flies In

The European Commission says a strain of bird flu has been detected in Romania, confirming that the virus is now at EU gates.

INDONESIA: Bird Flu Toll Reduced as Threat Grows

While Indonesia has lowered its bird flu toll from six to three deaths since an outbreak in June, authorities warn that conditions exist for a sudden, devastating flare-up.

HEALTH-ASIA: Dengue, Worse Threat Than Bird Flu

For most of his adult life, Dr. Suthee Yoksan has toiled in the hope of defeating the mosquito that spreads dengue fever in South-east Asia.

HEALTH: Indonesia Outbreak Revives Race Against Bird Flu

As Indonesia grapples with the spectre of deaths from bird flu, public health officials in the region are racing against time to put into place a pandemic prevention operation that comes down to one word-speed.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Ostrich Industry (Almost) Free to Resume Exports

The ostrich industry in South Africa has welcomed Tuesday's announcement by Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza, declaring the country free of avian influenza. However, it warned that this did not translate into an automatic resumption of ostrich product exports.

HEALTH-VIETNAM: Bird Flu Vaccinations Fail to Take Off

Vietnam’s ambitious plan to vaccinate all its poultry before seasonal high demand for chicken meat begins, early next year, has suffered a setback because of the failed pilot programmes.

HEALTH-RUSSIA: Bird Flu Soars in Siberia

Russia is struggling to cope with an outbreak of bird flu in central Siberia. Researchers say it is the same virus that spread in southeast Asian countries earlier.

HEALTH: Asia in the Lurch as West Buys Out Avian-Flu Drug Stocks

A race to corner limited stocks of 'Tamiflu', the only known drug capable of stopping an epidemic of the deadly avian-flu, has brought into the open a divide between the developed and developing world that, left unchecked, could have disastrous consequences for all.

HEALTH: Vietnam Stops Chinese Chickens Crossing the Border

As part of efforts to check avian bird-flu, Vietnamese border guards have tightened a vigil for clandestine movement of chicken and eggs across the Vietnam-China border.

HEALTH: Farm Practices Blamed for China’s ‘Pig-Flu’ Outbreak

Farming practices across East Asia are once again under scrutiny after over 30 people died in a south-western province of China from a mysterious disease caused by a common bacterium that thrives among pigs.

HEALTH: Activists Question True Magnitude of Bird Flu Threat

While a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report has sparked fears of a worldwide bird flu pandemic, civil society activists charge that these worries have been blown out of proportion.

HEALTH-SOUTH-EAST ASIA: New Bird Flu Alert As Hot Season Approaches

Just as Thailand began to celebrate a domestic triumph over the bird flu virus, other parts of South-east Asia had reason not to let their guard down over this killer disease. More so, since the heat and humidity that intensifies across the region in the months ahead creates an ideal condition for the virus to breed.

DEVELOPMENT: A Grim World Bank Prediction for Thailand’s Farmers

It's all bad news this year for Thailand's farming communities, from where the bulk of the country's poor come.

HEALTH-ASIA: Experts Use SARS Lessons for Bird Flu Preparedness

As public health experts lay the groundwork to combat a possible pandemic triggered by the lethal bird flu virus in Asia, they have an equally lethal infection that struck two years ago - SARS - to thank for the current state of readiness.

HEALTH: Thailand Takes the Plunge In Testing Bird Flu Vaccine on Humans

By revealing its intent to conduct bird flu vaccine trials on humans, Thailand has joined neighbouring Vietnam in a venture that requires rare courage, given the risks such trials are fraught with.

HEALTH-ASIA: Bird Flu Pandemic, Now a Possibility

A year after it triggered alarm bells across Asia, the lethal bird flu virus is showing little signs of slowing down, consequently forcing health and food experts to concede that the disease will persist for years in the region.

HEALTH: Vigilance The Only Way to Fight Bird Flu Pandemic – Experts

South-east Asian countries grappling with fresh outbreaks of bird flu are displaying strong faith in the transparency of authorities as the fight against the lethal disease picks up, marking a departure from the secrecy that governments resorted to last year.

HEALTH: Bird Flu Worry in Tsunami-Hit Asia

While South and South-east Asia struggles with the mounting death toll after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, a more dangerous killer - bird flu - has started to rear its ugly head in some parts of the region.