THE bird flu epidemic in Asia has reached such proportions that it may only be a matter of time before a strain capable of spreading from person to person emerges, World Health Organization officials are beginning to fear. If that happens, experts who have been warning that US efforts to protect against bioterrorism are undermining our defences against the much greater threat posed by natural outbreaks might be able to say “we told you so”.
This is because a vaccine against the new flu strain would have to be mass-produced, and fast. The first step, creating genetically engineered “seed” viruses…
