Importers have called for a flexible poultry policy that allows for the suspension of punitive import tariffs implemented to protect local production

More than 18 000 birds have died to date, the majority of them being the wild Cape cormorant seabirds on Dyer Island

The island hosts the vulnerable African penguins, endangered bank cormorant and roseate tern

CapeNature might have to close affected bird reserves if the outbreak becomes too severe

Avian flu has been confirmed on two farms in Gauteng and one in North West

The new bird flu strain that has killed 36 people has proved resistant to Tamiflu for the first time, a development scientists find "concerning".

A strain of bird flu that has been found in humans for the first time in eastern China is not a cause for panic, says the World Health Organisation.

Genetic sequence data on a strain of bird flu has shown the virus has acquired mutations that might make it more likely to cause a human pandemic.

A researcher in the US has shown how he created a hybrid of H5N1 bird flu and swine flu that can easily spread between people.

The US has asked <em>Nature</em> and <em>Science</em> to censor data on a lab-made version of bird flu that could spread more easily to humans.

Hong Kong officials said on Monday tests indicated there was no city-wide outbreak of bird flu as the first patient in seven years was recovering.

The World Health Organisation declared an influenza pandemic on Thursday and advised governments to prepare for a long-term battle.

A new flu virus that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico could start a global epidemic, the World Health Organisation warned on Saturday.

Mexican and US health officials searched on Saturday for signs an outbreak of a new flu strain is spreading further, after it killed up to 68 people.

Scientists have detected for the first time in Nigeria a new strain of the virus that causes avian influenza — also known as bird flu.