In response, the United States banned imports of poultry from British Columbia, but may scale back the ban once more information is received from Canadian authorities.

Although the virus is not the form currently the focus of much media attention, it still carries the risk that poultry in the vicinity may become infected with the virus and that virus could then mutate.

Local authorities have culled 56,000 birds on the farm where the ducks were found, and have quarantined four other farms within a three-mile radius.

Japan also banned all Canadian poultry as a result of the announcement. Taiwan and Hong Kong have imposed temporary bans on poultry from British Columbia.

Meanwhile:

--There is a risk the Haj may be called off if cases of human-to-human avian influenza transmission are discovered before the pilgrimage begins in January.

The Haj presents perfect conditions for the spread of disease, with 2.5 million Muslims from 160 countries converging on Saudi Arabia for the religious ritual. If a pilgrim with bird flu went to Mecca and encountered pilgrims sick with seasonal flu, the conditions would be ripe for the creation of the influenza mutation feared by health experts.

Didier Pittet, director of the Infection Control program at the University of Geneva Hospitals, outlined the concern: "...what will be terrible is if by bad luck, bird flu and common flu viruses come in contact.

"If Saudi authorities discover a sporadic human case of bird flu in Mecca, then extreme and immediate action will be needed. If a second and similar case is spotted in the same area, then you have a clustering of cases, you suspect there are other forms of transmission."

Saudi Arabian history shows that the country has suffered its worst outbreaks of endemic diseases such as plague, cholera, and meningitis during the Haj season.

-- North Korea has intensified its quarantine measures along the country's borders and at points of entry, in an attempt to prevent avian influenza from entering the country.

The Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim Hyong Chol, chairman of the Korean Committee for the Check and Quarantine of Exported and Imported Commodity, as saying, "Those with a slightest symptom of the disease are put in quarantine."

--China has reported three new outbreaks of avian flu among the country's poultry stocks.

As has become the established pattern, the three outbreaks occurred many miles apart, in the northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, also in the northwest, and in the southwestern province of Yunnan.

Chinese authorities have sent avian influenza experts to the sites of the outbreaks, and birds are being culled within a three-kilometer radius in response.

--Despite the growing scourge of avian influenza in the country, Chinese officials have no plans to close down borders in an attempt to curtail the spread of the disease.

Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said, "The government is making all efforts to combat bird flu, which is a serious epidemic in China ... I have yet to hear anything about a border closing plan."

--Also in China, the government has approved a Chinese-made human vaccine for avian influenza for clinical tests.

--A 15-year-old Vietnamese boy has been confirmed as having been infected with an H5 strain of avian influenza, but officials are awaiting the results of further tests before they are able to identify the strain as H5N1.

The teenager is in hospital and is said to be in stable condition.

--Travelers arriving in Japan from countries with avian influenza outbreaks will be made to disinfect the soles of their shoes at the point of entry. The request is non-binding, but it is believed that all visitors will comply.

--The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposed updates to regulations that will enable them to respond quickly to reports of infectious disease outbreaks.

If the proposals are accepted, they will be applicable to reports of avian influenza.

A Department of Health and Human Services release reported that the proposals include: "Expanded reporting of ill passengers on board interstate flights as well as airline flights and ships arriving from foreign countries; requirements that ships and airline flights arriving from foreign countries and certain interstate flights maintain passenger and crew lists and submit lists electronically to CDC upon request; (and) explicit due process provisions for persons subject to quarantine."

--Americans are expected to eat 46 million turkeys this Thanksgiving, and retailers are pleased to note that fears of avian influenza do not appear to be affecting sales.

There is no risk of contracting avian influenza from eating cooked poultry, and the greatest risk to consumers this Thanksgiving is holiday weight-gain from second and third helpings.

earlier related report
Bird Flu Threat Creating Huge Demand for Cold and Flu Products
Jupiter FL (SPX) Nov 23 - Recent global coverage of the possible bird flu pandemic has created soaring demand for cold and flu products. Generation Health, a Jupiter, FL-based company, recently launched an immunity support product called Winterize to demand that is already threatening to outstrip supply.

Orders of the proprietary herb blend, which is designed to boost the immune system, are surging with requests for multiple bottles and in some instances orders by the case. Initial orders came from older Florida residents. But information about the product quickly spread nationally over a wide age demographic. In addition to the flu shot and good hygiene practices, health-conscious consumers in every state are looking for natural ways to shore up their immune systems.

Generation Health is preparing to double its fulfillment staff and move to weekend shifts in order to meet the demand that company officials describe as "unprecedented."

While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that between 5-20% of the U.S. population suffers with seasonal flu every year, concerns are shifting to a possible bird flu outbreak similar to the 1918 Spanish flu that killed as many as 50 million individuals globally.

Seasonal and bird flu concerns are at an all-time high among consumers and the United States government. In a speech to the National Institutes of Health on November 1, Bush asked Congress for $7.1 billion in funds for flu defense in anticipation of a pandemic of avian influenza.

One thing seems certain: demand for flu-related products is as inevitable as the coming flu.

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