From AP, via the New York Times:
The Asian Development Bank on Thursday projected a bird flu pandemic in Asia could kill around 3 million people, cause economic losses of up to nearly $300 billion and possibly push the world into a recession.
China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand would likely be hit hardest in the event of an outbreak, the report said.
The bank outlined two potential scenarios, both assuming that a pandemic would last about a year, causing 20 percent of the region’s population to fall ill and 0.5 percent of them — or 3 million people — dying.