A respected scientist issued a frightening warning on American television when he predicted that there was a 50/50 chance of the avian flu virus mutating to a human form.

Robert G. Webster, an expert in virology at the St. Jude’s Research Hospital in Memphis Tennessee, has become known as ‘the flu hunter’ for his work in tracking the progress of H5N1, the avian flu virus, and looking for a way of beating it, should it mutate to a human form.

Until his statement, no other virologist had been confident enough to provide a definitive answer to the question of whether the virus would mutate.

H5N1 in its current form can only be contracted by humans if they come into direct contact with the droppings and excretions of infected birds. However, the fear is that the virus may at some point change its genetic code and emerge in a form that can spread easily from human to human through the air.

Should this happen, the results would be catastrophic, leading to a global pandemic. While the virus might not in itself be deadly to healthy adult humans, expected mortality rates among the very old, very young or infirm would be extremely high. Scientists around the world remain extremely vigilant and are tracking the virus’ progress intently.