Health body moves to quell fears over flu pandemic

The World Health Organisation today moved to dampen fears over alarming predictions quoted by one of its own officials that a pandemic stemming from the bird flu virus ravaging parts of Asia could kill as many as 150 million people.

The UN health agency was fielding inquiries from both the media and the general public after Dr. David Nabarro – a senior WHO official named yesterday as the new UN co-ordinator for avian and human influenza – cited the number during a news conference at the UN’s New York headquarters.