Worries that it is getting closer to Britain:

DEAD seagulls in northern Finland have renewed fears that avian flu is getting closer to Britain.

The Agriculture Ministry in Helsinki said yesterday that the virus had been detected among sick and dead seagulls found in a park in Oulu, 370 miles north of the capital.

But detailed confirmation is still needed, and the officials suggested that if the cause proves to be bird flu, it may not be the strain that has caused an epidemic in the Far East.

Riitta Heinonen, a senior ministry official, said: “Our view is that, if it is bird flu, it is low-pathogenic avian influenza, not the high pathogenic that has been found in Asia.” Final test results will be ready in three weeks.

Three civet cats have died in Vietnam of the virus, the first known occurance of cat infection. More here.

The European Union is weighing possible strategies.

Worries of a "crippled economy" outlined by the BBC:

"The economic impact would be overwhelming," Donald Coxe, the bank's global portfolio strategist and author of An Investor's Guide To Avian Flu, told the BBC.

Mr Coxe said any outbreak in East or South East Asia would have a major impact on the global economy because so many goods were now sourced there.

Its further spread would "bring all sorts of things to a halt," Mr Coxe added.

"Airplane traffic around the world would be shut down and international trade would ground to a halt.

"Production lines would shut down around the world because parts are not coming in as needed because of failure of distribution."

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