Bird flu could cause humanitarian crisis care workers have told how the virus has spread and is on the move across the continent.

The disease – which is spread in air travel – has already killed more than 9,500 people in eight countries.

There are also fears of more than 10,000 cases of H5N1 bird flu in Europe and North America.

But Dr Paul Voss, the senior public health officer for the World Health Organisation in Geneva, said there had been no sudden, huge increase in bird flu cases during March.

“That is not yet an epidemic,” he told the BBC.

There were cases in France and in Britain – which are in close contact with neighbouring countries.

But there is no evidence that birds are the reason for these increases.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Dr Paul Voss, World Health Organisation (WHO) officer in Geneva, says that there has been no sudden, massive increase in bird flu

He added that the disease has been spreading rapidly around the world and that he does not expect the virus to be contained.

If bird flu did invade, it would be a “major health risk, so the WHO has recommended people postpone outdoor activities such as swimming and birdwatching for two weeks”.

More than 1,000 UK families have been taken ill and several more are believed to have been affected.

The latest flu strain, H5N1, has already wiped out an estimated 15,000 birds from the UK.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Dr Paul Voss, World Health Organisation (WHO) officer in Geneva, said that people who were ill should not travel outside or have to stay indoors as they could not be exposed

Dr Paul Voss said he was not aware of any particular flu season, but that the virus is spreading and that people should postpone any outdoor activities for two weeks as a precaution.

Other countries are experiencing more rapid out모나코 카지노breaks of the virus too, he added.

Dr Voss was speaking as officials warned people of an increased likelih포커ood of bird flu at this time of year because of heavy rains.

More than 1,000 people have tested positive for the highly contagious disease, known as swine flu, Dr Voss told the BBC, including 637 in Britain.

He said that there had been at least 20 우리 카지노reported cases of the disease – including a two-month-old baby boy – in Britain in February.

Dr Paul Voss said that the problem did not appear t