«Home | Next: Poll: Troops in Iraq Want Out Within A Year»

| Next: Avian Flu: The Latest»

| Next: V for Vendetta»

| Next: Juan Cole Weighs In»

| Next: Iraqi Official Says Jill Carroll Still Alive After...»

| Next: Brilliant Endorsement»

| Next: Republican Ethics Reform Leader Santorum Subject o...»

| Next: Ken Lay "Was Using Enron Like a Damn ATM Machine"»

| Next: Hatch: I didn't Say What I Said»

| Next: Woodward: Cheney in '08»

With news of a feline death from the H5N1 virus in Germany, a virtual "cat curfew" was imposed in four countries: Germany, France, Italy and Slovenia.

Also, a health official predicts the avian flu will infect wild birds and domesticated flocks in the United States soon. He asserts that spread of the virus between birds won't necessarily lead to a public health emergency as long as it doesn't mutate to a form transferable between humans. But even if it doesn't lead to a human pandemic, its effect on the poultry industry would be devastating, with damages in the billions as China knows firsthand.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services ordered 12.4 million courses of Roche's Tamiflu and 1.75 million courses of Glaxo's Relenza, just in case. This on top of the 5.5 million courses of antiviral drugs it already has on hand. Tamiflu has been shown to be effective in treating human cases of the avian flu, if applied early enough.