Scientists warn of bird flu epidemic

A strain of bird flu has moved a step closer to developing the traits required to create an epidemic of the disease in humans, scientists warned on Monday...

Dr Terrence Tumpey, a microbiologist with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, Georgia, said: "The finding underscores the necessity for continued surveillance and study of these viruses as they continue to resemble viruses with pandemic potential."

The World Bank estimates that the financial cost of a pandemic could exceed $2 trillion.
The study appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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