Plans were hatched for how best to respond to the threat from a virus that is infecting poultry around the world and might trigger a deadly pandemic of human flu.

ECONOMIST: Bird flu

Thailand, which was the world's fourth-largest exporter of poultry before bird flu hit, would be reluctant to abandon all hope of resuming exports.

ECONOMIST: Animal and human health

They have built sales organisations around the world to make the most of the abundant resources for producing pork, poultry and grain in Brazil, complemented by ideal growing conditions and low labour costs.

ECONOMIST: A new breed of multinational company has emerged

The rate of new cases has slowed since Shanghai's live poultry markets were closed on April 6, said Anne Kelso, director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Centre for Influenza in Melbourne.

WSJ: Bird Flu Found Outside China's Mainland

Scientists around the world who are investigating the strain suggested the virus could be hard to track because it shows no symptoms in poultry but can be fatal in humans.

BBC: China bird flu: third person dies from new H7N9 virus