"WHO Chief Urges Preparedness for Bird Flu"

Read the Aaaocated Press article in the San Fracisco Chronical.:

"Countries around the world need to start rehearsing plans for tackling a human flu pandemic to identify hidden obstacles and ensure the best response once the virus arrives, the World Health Organization said Monday.

"Health experts at the first major international coordination meeting on bird flu and human flu urged countries that haven't done so to draw up plans for handling an inevitable new pandemic, which the World Bank estimated could result in more than $800 billion in lost gross domestic product over a single year.

"Experts agree a global flu outbreak capable of killing millions of people is a certainty.

"What is also certain, say scientists, is that the virus will come from bird flu. But what is unknown is whether the H5N1 strain that has ravaged poultry stocks in parts of Asia and spread through Eastern Europe will be the culprit."