China reports two new bird flu outbreaks
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-30 07:27

It remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it could mutate and become easily passed from person to person, sparking a global pandemic in which millions could die.

Western investment banks are warning clients of dire consequences for the world economy if this happens, although there has been little reaction on financial markets to date beyond a rise in some drug company stocks.

Health experts are examining ways of preventing the virus spreading. In a study published on Monday, Dutch scientists said vaccinating chickens could stop the virus from being passed on.

The United Nations advised against culling wild birds, saying the main concern must be tackling the disease in poultry.

The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued the advice after reports that wild birds were being killed in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam as a precautionary measure.

"This is unlikely to make any significant contribution to the protection of humans against avian influenza," said Juan Lubroth, an FAO official with responsibility for infectious animal diseases.

QUESTIONS OVER TRANSMISSION

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the possibility of human-to-human transmission of bird flu in Indonesia could not be ruled out after the deaths of two brothers of a 16-year-old boy confirmed as Indonesia's 12th human case of bird flu.

The brothers died on November 11 from similar symptoms days before the boy from West Java was taken to hospital, WHO spokeswoman Maria Chang said.

They were diagnosed with typhoid fever, but they were never tested for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, leaving questions hanging over the cause of death.

In Brussels, Europe's health chief said he would encourage creating an EU-wide stockpile of vaccines to contain a major flu outbreak but he preferred countries to do everything on their own to prepare for the worst scenario.

Speaking after a two-day simulation to test how well the EU would cope with a wide-scale health scare, especially of influenza, EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said there was a clear need to strengthen vigilance.

EU member states have drawn up plans to deal with a flu pandemic and organize national stockpiles or orders for antiviral drugs. Their levels of preparedness vary widely.

"The issue of antivirals , whether there will be a European stock or not, is of course a policy decision. But I believe that ... one could find arguments in favor of such a policy," Kyprianou told a news conference.