[www.guardian.co.uk]

A global taskforce should be urgently formed to tackle a potential influenza pandemic that could affect 20% of the world's population, trigger economic disaster and kill millions, experts warned today.

A report in scientific journal Nature gives a fearful assessment of the huge impact a pandemic could have on the world, with an estimate that more than seven million people could die in the first few months.

A pandemic would change the world "overnight" and could be worse than previous outbreaks because of the greater interlinked nature of modern life, experts told Nature.