China's bird flu outbreak cost US$6.5bil loss

GENEVA: The H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion (4.2 billion pounds) in losses to the economy, U.N. experts said on Tuesday.

Health authorities worldwide must be on the lookout to detect the virus, the experts said, which could still develop the ability to spread easily among humans and cause a deadly influenza pandemic.