03 March 2006

Watching the birdies

The Times reports:
THE chances of a British person falling ill with avian flu will be as low as 1 in 100 million even if the virus infects birds in Britain, the Government’s chief scientist said yesterday.
While the spread of the H5N1 virus to Europe is a serious issue for farming and wildlife, it presents a negligible threat to human health that should not worry the public, Professor Sir David King told The Times.
Speaking after a further 11 wild birds in France were confirmed yesterday to have tested positive for H5N1, bringing the country’s total to 29, Sir David said that the experience of the disease in Asian countries suggests that individuals are about seven times more likely to win the national lottery than they are to contract bird flu.

So why has the government bought all that vaccine? Here.

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