Congo bird flu outbreak would be 'catastrophic'

An outbreak of bird flu in Congo would be “catastrophic,” but more attention is needed for other diseases which are killing thousands every day in the war-ravaged country, a senior UN humanitarian official said today.

About 1,200 die needlessly every day in Congo and any outbreak of bird flu on top of that could have particularly severe consequences, said Ross Mountain, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s deputy special representative for Congo.