The private sector plays just as important a role as the authorities in the event of a flu pandemic.

To help it do so, the Home Affairs Ministry has published a book on the Government's approach to dealing with such an emergency.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said this when he spoke at a conference on pandemic preparedness in Asia yesterday at the Marina Mandarin.

Citing the example of the H5N1 virus, which is responsible for the bird flu, he said that while the H5N1 situation appears stable for now, the threat of a pandemic remains unchanged.

"It is still actively circulating...where there is close proximity between poultry and humans," he said.

Mr Wong also referred to sobering statistics which underlined the threat from the next pandemic.

The United Nations estimates that the global death toll from the next pandemic could go up to 70 million people if it is very severe.

The British place a flu pandemic ahead of terrorism as the biggest threat to the public in terms of potential impact.

In Singapore, a widespread outbreak is not a "solely medical crisis".

Mr Wong said: "We need to free up medical professionals to treat infected persons, while others take on non-medical interventions like enforcing quarantine orders and ensuring that essential services continue to function."

The authorities will do their best to minimise the impact, but "we will need the cooperation of the private sector to sustain the economy and the population," he said.

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