As investment banks stock up on drugs to fight off a potentially devastating bird flu pandemic, some could have feared last week that the Financial Services Authority had already been hit by an outbreak. A headline in a trade magazine last week screamed: "FSA loses communications chief amid rising bird flu fears."

Has the head of communications at the venerable watchdog been struck down by the avian virus? Has he been forced to step down because of the FSA's handling of the possible crisis?