WHO issues bird flu warning

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 30 Nov 2004 - 10:00 PDT

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Bird flu could be more deadly than the SARS virus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The WHO is warning that the H5N1 flu strain could infect up to 30 per cent of the world's population, possibly killing millions of people within weeks.

"The most conservative estimate is that seven to ten million people would die, but the maximum range will be more - 50 million or even in the worst case 100 million people," said WHO director for the Western Pacific Shigeru Omi.

Bird flu this year has killed 32 people in Thailand and Vietnam, and millions of chickens across Asia.

Officials are warning that vaccination programmes are unlikely to prevent further widespread outbreaks because each vaccine needs to be tailored to the specific flu strain - meaning a delay of around six months before vaccines are widely available.

The WHO hopes to encourage governments to adopt a vaccine-less contingency plan, including quarantine and increasing antiviral drug supplies.
http://www.hda-online.org.uk

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