Experts We’re not ready for bird flu
Scientists fear a bird flu pandemic could be heading our way – and no vaccine is being prepared in the UK to stop its spread.
An outbreak could be worse than the 2009 swine flu outbreak, which infected 800,000 people and caused about 300 deaths.
More than 1300 cases of H1N1 bird flu have already been reported, mostly in China, and 476 have died – a mortality rate greater than one in three.
The H7N9 virus has so far only been caught by humans from birds or from a close fami ly member who is infected.
But scientists say that it is only two mutations away from widespread humanto-human transmission.
They are banned from carrying out tests involving the virus in the UK in case mutations created in labs fall into terrorists’ hands.
A wa rning in New Scientist magazine said: “If the virus evolves the ability to spread between humans easily, it will circle the world in weeks.”
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “The Government need to take every possible precaution to prepare the country for possible pandemics.
“Given the severity of these warnings, they ought to say what measures they are taking to improve our preparedness to deal with an outbreak like this.”
Public Health England said research into f lu vaccines is being carried out in the US and by the World Health Organisation.