The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging hospitals to accelerate advanced testing of people they suspect may have bird flu.

By Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek (Reuters) -People hospitalized for flu should be tested for bird flu within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, in an expansion of the agency's efforts to tackle ongoing infections in humans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today released an advisory recommending clinicians expedite subtyping of type A influenza samples from hospitalized patients, particularly individuals in an intensive care unit.