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Bird flu to have least effect on Asian economies: UN

AFP, Manila
Avian flu is unlikely to have a major effect on the economies of Asia, unlike the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) last year, a UN official said Thursday.
Kim Hak-Su, executive secretary of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said economic progress in the region was widely expected to be better this year than in 2003 despite the outbreak that has claimed 17 human lives.
The fallout from the outbreak had so far been limited to sectors like the poultry industries of certain countries, and the human death toll was still relatively small, he said.
Kim said this estimate did not take into account fears bird flu might
be spread directly among humans rather than being spread by contact with infected birds.
Experts have warned a worldwide epidemic might result if the bird flu crisis escalates through human-to-human transmissions.
But Kim said he was optimistic a vaccine or treatment for bird flu could soon be developed since it was just a form of influenza.
"It is not so serious in terms of economic impact," he told reporters in the Philippines.
"Sars had an impact on travel-related industries, hotels, airlines and a substantial decline of tourists in the region. But so far, there is no such sign of a decline in tourists" due to fears about bird flu, Kim said.
The overall impact of bird flu was "not so serious" and would be lim-
ited to the poultry and livestock sectors, which were already suffering, Kim said.
Tens of millions of chickens in 10 affected countries have been culled to keep the disease from spreading.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has emerged in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos and South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, while Taiwan and Pakistan have reported weaker strains.
In contrast, Sars, which first surfaced in China's Guangdong province in November 2002, spread to more than 30 countries. It killed nearly 800 people and spawned a panic that caused millions of people to curtail travel to and within Asia.