Death toll from bird flu hits 70

A THAI boy has become the 70th Asian to die of bird flu, authorities said yesterday as reports warned a flu pandemic could cost the US economy hundreds of billions of dollars as well as millions of lives.

China also reported a new case of H5N1, the fifth person in the country known to have been infected with the deadly virus.

The 31-year-old woman, who lived in Heishan county of Liaoning province, has since recovered.