The economic impact of Asian bird flu will be minimal, said UN officials.
The disease, which has swept through ten countries and left 17 people dead, will not see a repeat of the economic damage of the 2003 Sars epidemic in the region, said a report.
According to the head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Kim Hak-Su, the economic damage has been limited to isolated sectors such as the poultry industry.
So far the disease has remained largely confined to birds, but Hak-Su said huge economic damage could be caused throughout the region if the disease were to spread to humans in large numbers.
