millions of people could be wiped out

BIRD FLU PANDEMIC FEARS

Millions of people could be wiped out by bird flu making it the world's worst ever epidemic, a leading expert has warned.

The H5N1 influenza strain has already claimed 42 lives and has a fatality rate of 76%.


In comparison, the flu virus which caused the 1918 pandemic only killed 1% of those infected, said Dr Nancy Cox from the US government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If the bird virus gained the ability to pass from person to person - which could happen at any time - the consequences could be devastating, she warned.

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting in Washington, Dr Cox said: "I think it is very frightening to see such a high case fatality rate.

"It is definitely quite striking. It is at least as dangerous as smallpox, and potentially if a viruses developed that had the ability to transmit efficiently and in a sustained manner in human populations we would expect rapid global spread of the disease."

The 1918 pandemic of 'Spanish Flu' killed more people than the First World War.

More people died of influenza in a single year than in four years of the Black Death caused by bubonic plague between 1347 and 1351.

The first case of a person dying from bird flu was reported in Hong Kong in May 1997.

A total of 55 cases of bird flu have now been recorded with 42 deaths.

Currently the virus only infects people who have been in contact with poultry but it is unable to pass between person to person.

However, scientists fear it may not be too long before the virus mutates into a form that can be passed between humans.