Bird flu could be as deadly as the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic but scientists have been prevented from working on a vaccine, a leading academic has warned.
Professor Derek Smith, of Cambridge University, was part of the team who controversially genetically engineered the H5N1 avian flu virus so that it was transmissible by humans.
But in 2012 public health watchdogs across the globe vetoed further research over fears the deadly disease would escape from the lab or used by bioterrorists to spark a pandemic.
Speaking at The Hay Festival, Professor Smith said the moratorium on future lab work risked leaving the world exposed to a deadly virus which would be unstoppable, and could have the same impact as the 1918 flu epidemic which killed 50 million people.
“Remember how dangerous a flu pandemic can be. Was it really the right decision back then to stop this research?,” he said.
“We are in a situation where we could actually know more information about this virus. Within a couple of months we could know how it could transmit between humans and how likely that is to happen.
“If that virus in our lab emerged today it would be as devastating as in 1918. We don’t know how likely that is but we would be a lot closer to knowing if the research could continue.”
H5N1 is deadly to birds and has killed around 500 people who have come into contact with infected animals but it cannot currently spread between humans.
However before the research was stopped scientists had discovered that the bird flu virus needs just five mutations in its genetic make-up for human transmission. And some of those are already happening in the wild.
Prof Smith said many of the scientists who worked on mutating the virus received death threats which had produced a ‘chilling effect’ on further work.
H5N1 is deadly to birds and rarely infects humans, but it has killed some 360 people since 2003,