The world risks a repeat of the 2006 bird flu outbreak unless surveillance and control of this and other dangerous animal diseases is strengthened globally, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Tuesday. "The continuing international economic downturn means less money is available for prevention of H5N1 bird flu and other threats of animal origin. This is not only true for international organizations but also countries themselves," the agency's chief veterinary officer Juan Lubroth said in a statement. The H5N1 virus still exists in some countries in Asia and the Middle East. Without adequate controls, it could easily spread globally as it did at its peak in 2006, when 63 countries were affected, Lubroth said. Between 2003 and 2011, the disease killed or forced the culling of more than 400 million domestic chickens and ducks and caused an estimated $20 billion of economic damage. H5N1 can also be transmitted to humans. Between 2003 and 2011, it infected over 500 people and killed more than 300, according to the World Health Organization.
