The British government is warning that as many as 50,000 people could die if Asian bird flu were to strike the country. To combat this possibility, John Reid, Britain's Secretary of Health, has announced a plan to help prepare. Reid is calling for the government to set aside a supply of Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug that would treat the symptoms of the flu. He estimates the need to be 14.6 million doses.

The World Health Organization is warning of the risk of a flu pandemic due to the increase in human cases of avian flu. So far, 55 humans have been infected with this disease and 42 have died. This is a chilling 76 percent death rate. Experts warn that because this virus spreads so rapidly among birds - specifically chickens, once it mutates to human form, it could well spread rapidly among humans. The death toll from such a pandemic could range from between two and 50 million people.

Seasonal flu outbreaks kill around 12,000 people in Britain annually. Some officials are looking at the numbers and are concerned that, if one quarter of the people in Britain got this strain of flu, and 76 percent of those people died, that would translate into the millions.

So far, no vaccine has been developed specifically for the avian flu and doctors do not believe that normal flu vaccine will be effective. Developing a vaccine could take up to six months and by that time a pandemic could be well underway.