In a single year, bird flu caused $5.4 billion in economic losses to global economy: NewsTarget.com

The bird flu has already caused $5.4 billion in damage to the global economy, according to new estimates that cite $2 billion in direct costs, and $3.4 billion in indirect costs.

But further global efforts to fight the bird flu will be required over the next two to three years according to the World Bank, who was advocating more effective compensation for poultry farmers caught in the front line of the bird flu dilemma.

In November, President Bush announced that he would ask Congress for $7.1 billion in emergency funding to prepare the country for a possible flu pandemic. Bush said that said that there had not been an outbreak in the United States or the rest of the world, but stressed that health officials must be ready.

The current bird flu strain -- known as the H5N1 virus -- has spread to birds in 16 countries, infected 121 people and killed 62 -- according to the World Health Organization. The H5N1 strain does not spread easily from person to person, but health experts fear that it could mutate.

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In a single year, bird flu caused $5.4 billion in economic losses to global economy

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