An ornithologist takes a sample from a Kingfisher in Vrana, southern Croatia, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005. On Friday, the country confirmed its first cases of bird flu with six swans testing positive for the H5 strain. Twelve swans were found dead near a pond in Zdenci national park in the eastern part of the country on Thursday.
As the country tests birds as a precaution, Hungary's health minister said on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005, that his country has developed a vaccine that could protect humans and animals from the H5N1 virus. So far no cases of bird flu have been found there. Scientists in the U.S. have already reported positive results from tests on their own H5N1 vaccine, but so far have not been able to make it a practical option.
Members of a Macedonia veterinarian team throw a bag with culled chickens in a sanitary pit near the small southern village of Mogila, on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005. Authorities started to exterminate 10,000 chickens in the village as a precaution against bird flu. The European Union assessed fears on Wednesday that bird flu was spreading further into Europe after suspicions the disease had spread to Macedonia.
Members of the Greek Health Organization cordon off and disinfect a farm where a bird flu-infected turkey was found on Monday, on the small Aegean island of Oinouses, Greece, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005. Authorities confirm the turkey was infected with the H5 strain. More tests are being done to see if it is the deadly Asian H5N1 strain.
A child cries while being injected with bird flu vaccine in the eastern village of Ceamulia de Jos, Romania, Oct. 8, 2005. Romanian authorities say three domestic ducks died of bird flu in an eastern village last month. They plan to slaughter 40-thousand birds in the coming days.
Workers load culled chicken onto a vehicle in western Turkey on Monday, Oct. 10, 2005. Turkey and Romania slaughtered thousands of domestic fowl as a precaution against the spread of bird flu after both countries said they had found the disease in domestic fowl. The European Union and several other countries announced Monday they were banning the import of poultry from those countries.
An Indonesian boy plays with pigeons on Sept. 28, 2005, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Australia has sent 10,000 boxes of Tamiflu -- the antiviral drug that is used to fight bird flu -- to Indonesia, where the disease has killed six and hospitalized 25 people in the capital city.
A quarantine inspection officer seizes souvenirs made from avian products from a passenger's baggage on Sept. 28, 2005 at Sydney International Airport. The recent outbreak of bird flu in neighboring Indonesia has caused concern that the importation of bird products could lead to the disease arriving within Australia's borders.
Health workers carry dead chickens and ducks in Chelyabinsk, Russia, Aug. 18, 2005. It was originally thought that fowl in that region had been infected with bird flu, but tests later revealed that the birds had died of salt poisoning. Bird flu arrived in Russia in August 2005 with an outbreak in Siberia.
A worker feeds chickens at a farm on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, Feb. 23, 2005. Bird flu has devastated Asia's poultry industry and killed at least 45 humans since it appeared in late 2003. Upon its reemergence during the 2005 flu season, United Nations scientists said there was a danger of it becoming a global pandemic that could threaten millions of lives.
Scientists and health officials tour a chicken farm on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, Feb. 23, 2005. Representatives from nearly 30 countries were in Vietnam to discuss strategies for coordination and containment of the disease.
Vietnamese farm workers weigh chicken eggs at a farm in Long An province, in southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta, Feb. 20, 2005. According to the World Health Organization, the avian influenza virus can live in eggs. To kill the virus, eggs should be properly cooked, and yolks should not be runny. In February 2005, there was no evidence of humans catching the disease by eating eggs.
A health worker disinfects chickens at Long Bien market in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 23, 2005.
A farmer watches after his chickens at a government-monitored slaughterhouse in Ho Chi Minh city, Feb. 21, 2005.
A chicken sips from a water feeder at a poultry farm in Long An province, in southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta, Feb. 20, 2005.
A rooster wanders a street where vendors are selling New Year's ornaments, in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 8, 2005. Vietnam was preparing to celebrate the year of the Rooster while trying to cope with the ongoing bird flu epidemic.
A young Vietnamese girl concentrates over a bowl of chicken noodle soup at a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 3, 2005. As bird flu raged across the country, the Vietnamese continued to live among poultry as they have for centuries.
A farmer tends after his ducks in water on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 1, 2005. Vietnam has since banned farmers from letting their ducks roam freely in canals and rice fields, in an effort to combat bird flu.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, 42, sits on his hospital bed in Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam, Jan. 26, 2005. Hung was one of only two people to recover from the bird flu. He tested positive for the virus after eating raw duck blood pudding with his family. Two of his brothers were also infected. One of them died and the other never developed symptoms.
A caged Bengali tiger crosses a pond at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi province, southeast of Bangkok, Thailand, Oct. 22, 2004. Tigers at the zoo became sick after eating raw chicken carcasses believed to be infected with bird flu. Some died and others were killed by authorities to stem the spread of the disease.