The devastating effects of a mystery pathogen have given rise to fears of a modern-day Black Death. Doctors say it is not a question of if such a virus will emerge, but when. Millions of air travellers could spread it round the globe, writes LORRAINE FRASER.
AS he shuffled through the lobby of the Hotel Metropole, the elderly professor was feeling feverish and faint. At the lift, he steadied himself for a moment in the open doorway before his body convulsed in a series of wracking coughs that sprayed fine droplets of saliva onto the walls and the people waiting inside.
