The two strains are linked, and share the same genetic background, but are distinct from each other.

The first was the strain that emerged in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia between 2003 and 2004, causing the first wave of human infections to garner media attention.

The second strain is that which caused a number of infections in Indonesia in 2004.

Both strains are still active, and either could be the one to spark off the human avian influenza pandemic the world is nervously awaiting.

"As the virus continues its geographic expansion, it is also undergoing genetic diversity expansion. ... Only time will tell whether the virus evolves or mutates in such a way that it can be transmitted from human to human efficiently," Garten said.

The study was performed on samples taken from people who became infected with avian influenza between 2003 and the summer of 2005. As none of the human cases in central Asia, Africa or the Middle East was involved in the study, it is possible that they represent further strains of H5N1.

Meanwhile:

-- Two Egyptians are believed to have been infected with avian influenza, and samples have been sent to the World Health Organization laboratories in Geneva for testing.

One was a 30-year-old woman who died Friday in an Egyptian hospital. News reports have not confirmed whether she was known to have come into regular contact with birds.

The other, a 28-year-old man who owns a poultry farm, was taken ill on Thursday and immediately treated with Tamiflu.

"He was treated with Tamiflu at a Qaliuybiya hospital, and his life is no longer in danger," Ministry of Health official Sayyid al-Abbasi was reported as saying. "He's well now, though he's still under surveillance."

The two victims came from the same region of Egypt, although from different villages, and there is no evidence that they knew each other.

-- Two areas in southern Israel have reported outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry, following the first reports of infection in the country Friday.

The two sites to report the latest outbreaks are both within six miles of the four sites confirmed to have been infected at the end of last week.

Although farmers and former Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz condemned the government's response to news of the outbreaks, and called for the declaration of a state of emergency, current Agriculture Minister Ze'ev Boim told local radio that the outbreaks remained contained at the local level.

A senior agriculture ministry official was quoted by Mail & Guardian Online as saying: "We are speaking about infections in six flocks in four locations when there are thousands of flocks in Israel in a vast number of locations."

-- WHO experts fear 14 more people in Azerbaijan are infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

Interfax news agency reported Monday that the WHO officials reported their suspicions following a visit to Salyansky district, 90 miles south of the capital.

Azeri officials report that there have been no new outbreaks of avian influenza, however.

A statement by the state commission responsible for overseeing avian influenza and published by Regnus news agency read: "Bird flu has not been discovered in new areas. The Health Ministry has said no one has been hospitalized (with suspected bird flu) in recent days, and that it has stockpiled the medications and disinfectants necessary to prevent and treat the bird flu virus."

-- Malaysia Monday reported an outbreak of avian influenza in birds in the northern state of Penang.

Malaysia has recently seen outbreaks in southern and central states, and is working hard to stem the spread of the virus.

Following confirmation of the outbreak, which was detected at the end of last week, Malaysian authorities began the widespread culling of birds in Penang. Restrictions have been put in place governing the movement of birds around and from the infected areas.

-- Nine wild ducks found on the Danish island of Aeroe have been confirmed to have been infected with H5N1.

Following reports of the outbreak, Danish veterinary authorities established a zone of protection around the island, which is approximately 100 miles southwest of Copenhagen.

-- Four sick Serbian children thought to have been infected with avian influenza have been given the all-clear and discharged from hospital.

The children, who came from a town near the Bosnian border, where there have been incidences of H5N1 infection in birds, were hospitalized last week after exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

-- Afghani authorities have said they will begin widespread poultry culls on Wednesday, following the U.S. army's donation of protective suits for workers.

The war-ravaged country has seen outbreaks in poultry in a number of sites, but the lack of necessary infrastructure and protective clothing for workers had delayed the culls.

-- In its first instance of H5N1 infection since July 2005, Kazakhstan has reported that a wild swan found dead on the shores of the Caspian Sea died of avian influenza.

Kazakhstan vaccinated approximately 8 million domestic birds and fowl before the swan was found. There have been no reports of further measures taken by the authorities in response to this latest finding.

-- Sheikh Abu Muhammed, an imam at a Gaza City mosque, greeted the news of Israel's bird flu outbreak with glee.

"Praise Allah the bird flu has hit the Jews. It came because of their sins against the Palestinians; because they are the most cruel enemy of humanity; because they are themselves the enemy of humanity; because they don't believe in Allah; because they falsify the book of Allah; because they cheated the prophet Mohammed; and because they cheated Allah and even their own prophet, Moses," Muhammed was quoted as saying by WorldNetDaily.

"This bird flu will be the beginning of diseases which will hit the nonbelievers. Please Allah keep hitting the enemy with more diseases. This is no doubt the beginning of the end of the Israelis. Like (late Hamas spiritual leader) Sheikh Yassin said, 2025 will be the end of Jews. This (bird flu) is the sign," he continued.

-- U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Monday she believed it was "increasingly likely" that avian flu will arrive in the United States this year.

Norton was speaking to reporters about a plan for the surveillance of migratory birds, and opined it would most likely land in Alaska's Pacific Islands.

The likely arrival of avian influenza in the country is separate from the possible human pandemic that has been the focus of news reports for a number of months, and should not be a cause for alarm.

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