A quick cure for avian flu?

In a scary turn of events, two patients suffering from avian flu died in a Vietnam hospital after apparently developing resistance to Tamiflu, the drug that governments have been stockpiling to fight against the disease in case of a pandemic, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Since 2003, the disease has killed at least 70 people in Asia.

One sign of hope against a global outbreak could come from scientists at Purdue University who have apparently discovered a quick cure for the avian flu, according to a Popular Science report expected in January. Administered via muscular injection, the new vaccine would elicit the same bodily response as a regular flu shot, according to the magazine. It could be available as early as October 2006. More to come on the discovery...