The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in a dead swan found in a lake in Fife, Scotland. The dreaded deadly virus has finally arrived in the UK amongst fears that the entire poultry population could become infected and eventually spread the disease to humans.

Throughout Asia the virus has been responsible for the deaths of millions of poultry and to date more than a hundred humans have died from being in direct contact with infected birds. The virus is known to be able to spread from poultry to wild migratory birds such as swans, geese and ducks, most of which tend to visit Britains shores during some time of the season between Spring and Autumn.

The UK is a favourite haunt for many migratory birds, which makes these islands particularly vulnerable to this kind of biological threat. But the real worry is whether the H5N1 virus could mutate to humans. And if this happens, the world could face a cataclysmic nightmare.

A short time ago Professor Neil Ferguson said, "What can we do if it hits our shores? We couldn't stop it. There would be a constant number of new cases and we would be overwhelmed very rapidly."

Scientists predict that should the virus mutate to humans, and is transmitted from person to person, there could be as many as 320,000 deaths in the UK. However, health experts say that a human transferable form of the H5N1 virus could kill between 100,000 and 150,000 people in the UK within just 2 months. And if left uncontrolled, could wipe out half the worlds population.

Is the country panicking? The government hopes not because theres barely enough vaccine available to treat 20% of the population. Whats even more worrying is the Tamiflu vaccine that has been stockpiled in preparation, has yet to be proven to be effective against any form of bird flu.

In 1918-1919 a flu pandemic, commonly known as Spanish Flu, was responsible for the deaths of up to 50 million people worldwide. It was at first thought to be some kind of unknown respiratory disease, which caused the victim to drown in their own fluid and blood, but has since been recognised as an avian influenza infection known as H1N1. Does the H5N1 strain pose a serious threat? Yes it does, because it has been recognised as a particularly aggressive strain of the virus with the capability to easily mutate from bird to mammal. Should be worried? Yes we should. Despite what the politicians tell us, the H5N1 avian flu virus is a deadly killer, which can very easily mutate to other species and spread uncontrollably throughout the UK.

There is no cure for avian flu, and there would be no possibility of a cure for at least 4 months and maybe longer. It would only then be made available to a select few. Are you prepared?

Its very important that every family in the UK is at least aware of the possible dangers from an H5N1 infection and takes steps to prepare for the worst possible case scenario. Complacency is already evident among government officials, who are not only telling the nation theres no need to panic, reminiscent of the mad cow disease era, but insisting that the Fife swan is an isolated incident.

The only advice is to learn more about this very real threat to the future of humanity, and find out how to protect yourself and your family. And most importantly how to survive should the worst happen.

Should the H5N1 virus spread throughout the UK, and somehow does mutate to a human to human transferable strain, and with no vaccine available for at least 4 months, what are you going to do?

Bill Knight is a highly respected International copywriter based in the UK. He specializes in creating hypnotic online sales letters, ads and email campaigns for clients from all over the world.

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