Football matches and pop concerts may be banned and people confined to their homes if there is a flu pandemic. The measures are likely to be included in the government’s contingency plan, which will be published in the spring.

Ministers have been warned an outbreak of a deadly flu virus is long overdue - the last one was in 1968.

Experts fear Avian flu, which has killed 32 people in south east Asia, could mutate to allow it to be passed from person-to-person. The virus can only be passed to humans by infected birds at the moment. But it is thought the strain of the virus could easily acquire the characteristics of human flu and become much more infectious.

Last year, the World Health Organization said an flu pandemic was “inevitable” and countries across the world should start preparing…

[Related: Suspected human-to-human birdflu transmission in Viet Nam]

[Via Warrenellis.com]