# 1321
Presumably the head of the Office of National Assessments, Peter Varghese, hasn't just come to this conclusion. But for Mr. Varghese to make a public declaration is newsworthy. Australia has been paying pretty good attention to the flu threat for some time.
The eyecatching headline, while a trifle alarmist, should rekindle some interest down under.
Deadly flu pandemic alert
Article from:
By Ian McPhedran
December 06, 2007 12:00am
THE Government's chief spook and threat watcher has warned that a repeat of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed up to 100 million people, was "real".
Head of the Office of National Assessments Peter Varghese said changes in the flu virus, and in the human and animal populations it could effect, raised the threat of a fresh outbreak.
"The economic, social, political and security impacts would be very large," Mr Varghese said.
The 1918 pandemic claimed up to 20 per cent of people infected by the virus and about half those were aged between 20 and 40 years.
The ONA boss told a security in government conference in Canberra yesterday that the list of issues affecting the nation's security until 2025 was "long and will keep growing".
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