BIRD FLU

New bird flu outbreak in China (20/6/06)
China has confirmed a new outbreak of the virulent H5N1 strain of the disease in Shanxi province.
The outbreak was identified after an unspecified number of chickens died in poultry farms in Changzi county. Samples of the dead birds were sent to the national bird flu laboratory and the H5N1 virus was identified, according the Agricultural Department.
The local government has launched an emergency response and quarantined the infected area, with veterinarians beginning to cull poultry in the area.

Romania to cull 1 million birds in scare (15/5/06)
About one million domestic fowl are to be culled in Romania after the potentially deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was found in three locations in the centre of the country, Romanian Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said. The discovery of bird flu in a farm is a first in Romania since the first case of the disease was detected on October 7, 2005.

Ban on chinese chicken advances (4/05/06)
Spurred by concerns about bird flu, lawmakers voted Wednesday to block chicken processed in China from entering the United States.
The Bush administration had said last month that it would allow poultry processed in China, so long as it comes from birds raised and slaughtered in the United States. Agriculture Department officials said the meat would be fully cooked and perfectly safe.
But Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said there's no way to guarantee the safety of chicken cooked and packaged in China, where thousands of birds and several people have died from bird flu. (AP)

Mild form of avian flu found in New Jersey (2/5/06)
Authorities have discovered a mild form of avian influenza at a live bird market in New Jersey, but it is not the deadly H5N1 strain governments around the world are trying to contain, the state's agriculture department said.
"The strain was found in a live bird market in Camden County. None of the birds in the market died from this virus, which is an indicator that the virus was low pathogenic and not harmful to humans," said a statement by New Jersey's Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus which was posted on Friday.
Details were not immediately available on precisely when the avian flu in Camden County was discovered. (Reuters) 

 
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