Scientists Say Flu Pandemic Remains A World Threat.(Brief Article)

2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At a time of bioterrorism fears, influenza should not be overlooked as a force of nature or a potential weapon of terrorists, disease specialists say.

Flu has the potential to become a pandemic, scientists said at a conference sponsored by the European Union. They called for efforts worldwide to counter the possibility.

"We don't need a bioterrorism attack for the next pandemic to happen,'' said Professor Albert Osterhaus, director of the Dutch Influenza Center. Osterhaus pointed to the 1918-1919 Spanish flu outbreak that killed up to 40 million people worldwide, many more than those killed in World War I. Flu outbreaks in 1957-1958 and 1968-1969 killed over a million each time, he said. Considering that the most virulent strains of flu hit about every 30 years on average, scientists are expecting another major outbreak soon.

"The question is not if, but when we are going to have another pandemic in the foreseeable future,'' said Osterhaus, cochair of the conference. During an average year, some 50,000 people in Europe die of the flu, more than the number of road deaths, Osterhaus said. Infants and the elderly are particularly susceptible, but during major epidemics, up to 30% of the population can catch the disease.

Terrorists could trigger an influenza outbreak, said Dr. Robert Webster, virologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. "Any technologist in the world can ...