Bird+flu

What is bird flu?** Bird flu (also called the H5N1 virus) is a virus that kills birds, but sometimes people who work with birds get it too. At the moment it can only be spread from birds to people, but scientists fear that one day the virus will mutate so that people can catch it from each other. __Indonesia__ August 2007: a 28 year old Indonesian woman died of bird flu. She was a poultry trader who lived in a small village in Southwest Bali. She had high fever and breathing problems and died shortly after she was taken to hospital. Up to August 2007, 84 people have died of bird flu in Bali. Authorities culled thousands of birds since tests proved that the first death was caused by bird flu. (Source: [|www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2012610.htm] ) __Japan__ February 2007: There have been four outbreaks of bird flu in Japan. The latest outbreak was on a farm with 93,000 birds, and all the birds will have to be killed to stop the disease spreading. No humans in Japan have become sick from bird flu. (Source: [|www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/02/01/1838553.htm]) __Vietnam__ August 2007: 89 chickens and ducks died of bird flu in northen Vietnam, close to the border with China. Seven people in Vietnam have had bird flu in 2007, and four of them died. (Source: [|www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/15/2005870.htm]) __China__ It is hard to find out what is happening in China because the Communist government does not always explain what is happening there. There have been no reported cases of humans dying from bird flu, but thousands of birds have had the virus and been destroyed. (Source: [|www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/10/25/birdflu.main/] )
 * Bird Flu in Asia

September 2007: Scientists in Singapore have invented a hand-held device that can detect the bird flu virus within 30 minutes. This is much quicker than old test which took several hours to get results. They use it to take samples from the throat. (Source: [|www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/09/24/2042131.htm])
 * What is being done about bird flu**

January 2007: An Australian company, CSL, has invented a vaccine to prevent deaths from bird flu. They have tested it and it is safe to use on humans, and it works on animals too. 164 people have died from bird flu since 2003. Source: [|www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/01/30/1836551.htm] )

November 2007: The Australian Quarantine Inspection Service is sending a book called 'My Sick Pelican' to schools in the Torres Strait so that children will be able to tell if birds in their area are sick. (Source: [|www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/07/2083702.htm])