Travel insurers are still treating the outbreak of the bird flu in Asia the same as any other flu virus.
But as soon as the Foreign Office issues a warning to British tourists about the perils of travelling to Asia, policyholders will need to consult their insurance providers to ensure their medical bills are covered.
There are plans to exhume the body of a woman who died in the world's worst epidemic 85 years ago to find out more about the bird flu. She was one of the 50 million victims of the pandemic of 1918.
Scientists believe that the 1918 virus was also a bird virus. It is hoped that lung samples can provide more information about how bird flu can spread between humans.
Bird flu is not transmitted between humans, but it is feared that it can mutate with a human flu virus to produce a strain that sweep across populations.
