Westminster Diary Comment from Tam Dalyell

摘要

Remember the panic caused by the Hong Kong flu epidemic, which killed six people in Hong Kong in 1997? It was caused by a new avian virus. To contain it, the Hong Kong authorities slaughtered a million chickens. Avian viruses caused widespread flu epidemics in 1957 and 1968, and most experts believe there is a constant danger of another outbreak or even of a pandemic.