AFP, LONDON Nov 27: Genetically modified (GM) chickens may be the key to wiping out the virulent strain of bird flu threatening to devastate the global economy, according to a leading British scientist.

"Clearly there is an economic benefit for the producers, not having to slaughter something like 170 million birds to contain the outbreak," said Laurence Tiley, who is leading research into GM, or transgenic chickens, at the University of Cambridge. The prestigious British university is being aided in its research by the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, famous for creating Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned animal.

"Realistically we would know in about a year's time whether or not we can make flu-resistant transgenic birds," Tiley told AFP. It could be much later, however, before such birds actually appeared owing to the need for numerous further tests and approval by governments, he cautioned.

"When it comes to disseminating transgenic chickens across the world we have to obey the regulations," Tiley said.

"There would be a considerable delay I think before these things would ever be released. Researchers in other countries may possibly manage to shorten the delay.

"I would imagine that the Chinese are looking at this sort of thing and if they developed it, I think they would probably be a lot less hesitant about it than perhaps we are in the UK," the scientist added.

China last week said that five new outbreaks of deadly bird flu had been detected in the country, bringing its total to 26 this year. Experts have meanwhile pointed out that China's ambitious pledge to vaccinate the nation's poultry stock against bird flu would be almost impossible to complete, owing to the vast number of birds. The enormous programme requires the vaccination of the current stock of 5.2 billion poultry-the biggest in the world-plus all the birds that are raised in the future, making for an annual 14 billion birds.

Experts are concerned also that a flu pandemic could kill millions of people worldwide if the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus acquired genetic material from a human influenza virus and became easily transmittable between humans.

Australian analysts warned last week that major shortages of food, fuel and labour would occur during a bird flu pandemic and some companies would be forced to shut down entirely. According to a recent report by the Asian Development Bank a human flu pandemic could force the world into recession and cost Asia around 283 billion dollars.

Despite the stark estimates, chicken breeders are unwilling to fund research into GM birds, according to Tiley.

"The producers are at pains to point out to us that they have no interest at all in it at the moment. Until it's actually proven they're not interested," he said.

As for the UK, "genetically modified food in general is not viewed with a great deal of enthusiasm", the scientist added.

"We have a task at the moment really to persuade people that certain uses of GM are more acceptable."