British tourists travelling to South-east Asia need to ensure their insurance policy covers any medical bills should they find themselves caught up in the bird flu epidemic.
British travellers need to consult with their holiday insurers to ensure their medical bills will be covered should they find themselves suffering from the bird flu epidemic spreading throughout South-east Asia. So far it has claimed seven victims, with efforts to find a vaccine being thwarted.
A spokesperson from travel insurers Primary Group stated that its customers are covered at the moment and that the procedure to claim is the same as with any other illness. Should the Foreign Office, however, issue a warning to Brits not to travel over to South-east Asia, then tourists may find their holiday insurers less likely to foot the bill.
Senior officials revealed the epidemic has spread to Pakistan and has already killed millions of chickens in the port city of Karachi. A six-year-old Thai boy died of the disease in Bangkok yesterday, while Thai officials said that another five deaths were being treated as suspect.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said efforts to find a vaccine were being frustrated by the "historically unprecendented" rate at which the virus was spreading and mutating.
WHO spokesman Peter Cordingley, in Manilla, said: "We don't know how the virus is spreading, so it's safe to presume that nowhere can consider itself safe."
British travellers in South-east Asia need to be aware that people can only be infected by the virus through contact with sick birds. However, scientists are worried that it could mutate into a form able to pass between people - triggering the next human flu pandemic.
