December 2003: Bird flu spreads throughout Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. By February 2004, 24 people have died from the H5N1 viral strain.

March 2004: China says it has stamped out bird flu.

July 2004: China admits it has found avian flu in migratory birds.

August 2004: Three people die from bird flu in Vietnam.

September 2004: Thailand says it has found a case where bird flu has likely been passed between human beings, but says it is an isolated incident that poses little risk to the population.

October 2004: Nine people in Thailand are reported to be sick with bird flu; eight of them die.

December 2004: In Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia, 68 cases of the illness are reported; 25 people die. The World Health Organization warns of a pandemic that could kill millions.

July 2005: The H5N1 strain is detected in Siberia.

August 2005: The EU imposes an import ban on poultry from Russia and Kazakhstan. The ban is already in force for nine Asian countries.

September 2005: Germany orders farmers in parts of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westfalia and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to keep all poultry indoors to prevent the spread of the disease from migratory fowl.

Oct. 8, 2005: Turkey reports its first cases of bird flu. It is later confirmed as the H5N1 strain.

Oct. 10, 2005: The EU bans imports of live birds and feathers from Turkey.

Oct. 17, 2005: Greece says H5 bird flu -- which can include the lethal H5N1 strain -- has been found on the Aegean island Chios. It's the first such case in an EU member state.

Oct. 20, 2005: The World Health Organization reports that 61 people have died in Asia from bird flu -- 41 in Vietnam, 13 in Thailand, four in Cambodia and three in Indonesia.

Oct. 21, 2005: Scientists detect the H5 avian flu virus in wild swans found dead in eastern Croatia.

Oct. 23, 2005: Britain reports that a parrot that died in quarantine was infected with the deadly H5N1 viral strain.

Oct. 24, 2005: Russia confirms another outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

Oct. 25, 2005: China reports a new outbreak of bird flu in the eastern province of Anhui. Indonesia reports another death from bird flu, raising its death toll to four.

Oct. 26, 2005: China reports deadly bird flu in chickens and ducks in the central province of Hunan. Croatia confirms that wild swans found dead at a pond in the east of the country were carrying the lethal H5N1 strain.