Another animal has been diagnosed with another disease that could potentially infect humans. More than 4.4 million ducks have been found to be infected with a new virus named BYD Virus. It causes reduced mobility, a reduction in the number of eggs produced, a loss of appetite and in many cases, death. more ›

For the first time in seven years the H5N1 bird flu virus has been detected in Hong Kong. A 59-year old woman had begun to show flu symptoms after her family trip to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing. She was admitted to a hospital on the 14th of November having only returned to Hong Kong on the 1st. more ›

Since up until now, we've only seen the third case of serious swine flu emerged in Shanghai, you may well be wondering, “how bad could all this hullabaloo get anyway?" more ›

With the flu season beginning, it's certainly good to take precautions: keep warm, drink lots of fluids, avoid swine flu, et cetera. But that may be hard to do: Chinese health officials have now reported over 9,100 cases of A/H1N1 on the mainland. What's worse, more than half of the cases have been reported in the past three weeks. In response, China's health department has prepared enough Tamiflu for ten million people, which is a startlingly high number, even in China. We're not the type to panic over pandemics, but we're going to unpack our extra sweaters and sanitary face masks just in case. more ›

Hong Kong is hinting that the Chinese mainland might be covering up a new outbreak of bird flu, after a number of dead fowl were found on Lantau Island. So far, 17 dead birds have washed up on Lantau's beaches in recent days, three of which had tested positive for the H5N1 virus. more ›

After a two year old girl in Shanxi and a 27 year old woman in Shandong province succumbed earlier to the H5N1 virus, a 16 year old boy in Hunan province has become the third fatality recorded within a month. Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu has called for health departments across the nation to pay "great attention" to the situation now that tens of millions of people are travelling home for the Chinese New Year. more ›

A 27-year-old woman in Shandong infected with bird flu has died, becoming the second death claimed by the virus this season. Yesterday, the Center for Disease Control and Protection confirmed that Ms. Zhang had contracted the H5N1 strain. Those who came in close contact with her have also been tested, the CDCP said, but have shown no symptoms of avian influenza. Now the tally of reported bird flu cases is up to three. How many does it take before it officially becomes an epidemic? Source: Xinhua (Chinese) more ›

A toddler in Shanxi province has been confirmed infected with bird flu. The two-year-old, originally from Hunan, was taken to the Shanxi Children's Hospital on Wednesday night and tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. She is now in critical condition. This is the second case of bird flu this week, after a 19-year-old Beijing resident died after handling ducks at a local wet market. See our tips for preventing bird flu here. Source: Caijing (Chinese only) more ›

Last week a 19 year old girl in Beijing died of bird flu (avian flu) in China's first reported case in about a year. Beijing Notebook wrote a list of tips for preventing infection by bird flu based on a distribution list from a doctor of the German Embassy in Beijing. Go to www.Beijing.diplo.de for a Chinese translation. more ›