The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed 50m people. It would spread much more rapidly today, and recent outbreaks of ebola and yellow fever are a warning to us all, say Gro Harlem Brundtland and Elhadj As Sy.

Vietnam today reported two more bird flu deaths, bringing the human toll to nine in three weeks and further raising the threat of the disease emerging as the next global pandemic, officials said.

Asia’s bird flu epidemic is a ”crisis of global importance”, two UN agencies warned as Thailand went on nationwide alert yesterday after the virus was confirmed in a woman whose case has raised concerns over human-to-human transmission.

EUROPE does not have enough anti-viral drugs to tackle an influenza pandemic that could wipe out millions within weeks, Health Minister Micheál Martin admitted yesterday.