Scientist attacks Britain’s bird flu preparation

	Tweet

A leading British scientist attacked the government on Sunday over its contingency plans to deal with a human bird flu pandemic, saying over two million Britons could die.

Professor Hugh Pennington, president of the Society for General Microbiology, told the Independent on Sunday a pandemic was both imminent and inevitable.

“If the virus moves into people there will be no stopping it,” he said. “It will be here before we know it.”

Health experts fear that the H5N1 bird flu virus that has killed 47 people in Asia could mutate into a strain easily transmitted in humans that could trigger a pandemic similar to the Spanish Flu in 1918 that killed between 20 million to 40 million people worldwide.

So far, though, there is no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission of the virus.

Medical experts suggest that around one in four people in Britain could be affected by an influenza pandemic. Without counter-measures, they estimate it could kill about 50,000.

Pennington said that was overly optimistic.

“They (the government) hope that by the time they have to spend money the problem will have gone away,” he said.

Britain has ordered enough drugs to treat about one quarter of the population and they will be delivered over the next two years. They will not prevent a pandemic but could mitigate its effects. 

RELATED STORIES:
Vaccinate kids to control H1N1 flu - researchers   Counterfeit Tamiflu drug a very real threat   Vietnam starts human trials for bird flu vaccine   How to Deal with Swine Flu: Heeding the Mistakes of 1976   Another case of non-lethal bird flu in Canada   Bird flu doing the rounds, back again in China   WHO backs findings on Tamiflu for seasonal flu   New strep vaccine shows early promise   Thailand stockpiles anti-flu drugs for bird flu fight   Bird flu kills Cambodia man   Who to blame for flu? Maybe the U.S., study finds   China battles new outbreak of deadly bird flu

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]