A confidential British report noted that if the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus mutates into a form transmissible to humans, 320,000 people could die in Britain and mass graves might have to be buried.
The British Sunday Times newspaper claimed that they reached the British Interior Minister’s March 22, 2006 dated classified report, titled “To deal with mass deaths in case of a bird flu epidemic.”
According to the news, the report recalls the painful memories of the great epidemic of 1665 and warns that an epidemic could cause a delay of up to 17 weeks for burial or cremation.
The report claims that in case of a 15-week epidemic, Britain and Wales could face 48,000 deaths. The Interior Ministry Spokesman was quoted as saying, “The government takes serious the threat caused by the possibility of a mutation in the bird flu virus.”
