Britain plans mass human graves in case of bird flu

BRITAIN: Britain is considering mass human burials should a bird flu pandemic break out, The Sunday Times newspaper said.

A "prudent" worst-case assessment suggested 320,000 people could die in Britain if the H5N1 virus mutated into a form contagious to humans, according to a confidential Home Office report seen by the weekly.

Titled Managing Excess Deaths in an Influenza Pandemic and dated March 22, the document reportedly says that such a large number of deaths could lead to delays of up to 17 weeks in burying or cremating victims.

It warned that "common burial" would stir up images of the mass burial pits used during the Great Plague of 1665.

But in fact it "might involve a large number of coffins buried in the same place at the same time, in such a way that allowed for individual graves to be marked".

The Sunday Times weekly said the report had been discussed last week in a cabinet subcommittee chaired by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

The report suggests that local authorities could cope with a "base case" of 48,000 deaths in England and Wales in a 15-week pandemic.

But it warned: "Even with ramping local management capacity by 100 percent, the prudent worst case of 320,000 excess deaths is projected to lead to a delay of some 17 weeks from death to burial or cremation."

LONDON, Sunday, AFP