Economic ruin if virus mutates

SINGAPORE: The economic damage caused by the bird flu outbreak in Asia is so far largely confined to rural communities but that could change rapidly if the virus mutates into a form that can spread directly among humans, analysts said yesterday. 

Ten countries have now been confirmed hit by the virus, which has killed at least eight people and led to the culling or deaths of millions of chickens in a region still recovering economically from last year's SARS epidemic.